Lonely Stars
by littlev123
Summary: When Nick was woken from his nap, he didn't know that he would almost be killed. Or that he would be saved by a strange laguz with a shady past. Rated T for violence. Contains several OCs and no pairings. OLD.
1. Chapter 1

_"Yes, sir!" _an apprentice with incredible lungs responded to his mentor's orders. The sound easily traveled through the fabric of a tent containing supplies nearby. The boy napping on a few crates inside was woken by the sudden noise, fell off, and landed on his stomach.

Slightly annoyed, he picked himself up off the ground, shaking his head to clear his mind. Remembering that he was supposed to be checking the store of swords and lances, he hoped no one had realized he had been sleeping. He dusted himself off absentmindedly.

He was a boy of fifteen with short brown hair, bright brown eyes, a slim build and was wearing a light blue shirt, gray pants, and brown boots. This was under his open, long, white jacket with light blue cuffs and a light blue stripe across the upper torso. The jacket ended at his knees, and was sometimes a bit of an inconvenience, but he had worn it for a while now and it felt odd without the weight of it on his shoulders.

"Nick!" A girl burst through the door of the tent. She had straight hair the same color as Nick's that reached to her chest, similar brown eyes, and wore a three quarter sleeved purple shirt, red belt with a small bronze buckle, tan leggings, and brown boots.

Nick jumped a little by her sudden entrance, then calmed down when he realized it was his older sister.

"Yeah, Violet?" he asked, wondering if he had a bed-head that would give him away.

"Sleeping again?"

"Uh… yeah." He answered guiltily.

She let out a sigh and smiled. "Reading those books again?"

"You guessed it." His sentence was followed with a yawn. Recently Nick had begun studying spells from Light tomes. He had found them in the bottom of a crate of worn battle maps, and the commander had allowed him to keep them. The last few nights he had stayed up reading by the candlelight until dawn.

"Well, how's the equipment?" Violet asked. She was supposed to report to a paladin on what weapons they were low on, so that he could know what they needed to buy in the next town.

"Um…" Nick tried to remember to before he had fallen asleep. "We are a little low on iron lances… and when I counted the swords, one was missing. I think someone might have dropped it while we were traveling."

"Alright, I'll go get it. It shouldn't take too long; we didn't travel too far today. I'll be back in a minute."

"Ok. See you then."

"Try not to fall asleep this time!" She yelled behind her as she walked out of the tent.

Nick stretched and turned back to the crates. He closed one that was filled with swords in scabbards and shoved it back. He then pulled out a different one that was much heavier and pried off the top. Looking at the gleaming axes inside, he sighed and sat down to count.

**I hope you liked it! Sorry if the first chapter is a little boring, but it will get better. Please review, any suggestions are appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Finished." Nick proudly closed the crate of axes, and then remembered that he still had to count the staves and daggers and knives…

Suddenly screams broke out and battle was heard. Weapons clanged and orders from and unfamiliar voice filled his ears. He smelled smoke and peeked out of the tent. Outside, nearly all of the tents were engulfed in fire and the flames licked at the darkening sky. Many people battled outside, and Nick recognized the ones he knew. But it was obvious they were outnumbered, as two or three of the enemy was battling against only one person. The enemy also made sure to keep them away from each other so that they would be easier to defeat.

Nick heard a crackling noise and looked behind him. A small flame was burning the side of the tent, and it wouldn't be long before it spread. He moved outside quickly, and wondered where to go. He saw his commander surrounded by at least ten men, and ran over to help. As he ran, he grabbed a Light tome out of his pocket and gripped it for confidence. He was frightened, but tried not to show it.

Before Nick could get close enough to help, someone hit him from behind. He fell to the ground and looked above him to see a man holding a lance, ready to strike him. Nick quickly rolled, still clutching his tome, to avoid the sharp metal.

Rising to his feet, he felt the words of a spell naturally come to his mind. He began muttering the words, aiming his hand at the man trying to pull his lance out of the hard ground. Light began forming above the man, brightening his back as he yanked out the lance, spraying a few clots of dirt in the process.

Just before he finished the words, someone slammed into him and sent him flying. Nick hit a tree and slid to the ground, stunned. When he painfully rose to his feet, leaning against a tree, a large hand grabbed his throat and held him against the tree. The hold on his neck squeezed. Nick's vision became dotted with black spots. He desperately clawed at the hand, but with no success due to his weakening strength. His arms fell limp against the bark, useless. Blackness overcame Nick. Still the man did not relent.

Suddenly one of the attackers was pinned to a tree with knives. The man's pressure on Nick's throat decreased in surprise. He looked around, searching for whatever had attacked.

He made out a figure with the form of a bird laguz in its human form. The darkness of the night hid its face, but its two daggers gleamed in the firelight.

The man, afraid, forgot about the boy and let Nick drop to the ground. He held out his lance in front of him, as though it were a shield. Before he even realized it, it had kicked him in the stomach and pierced his neck. While the dead man fell to the ground, it picked up the unconscious Nick and flew away from the burning remains of the camp.

**I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2, and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Nick woke up from the morning sun shining on his eyelids. He blinked open his eyes and squinted against the bright light from between the trees. He sat up without any pain, and was thankful that he was highly skilled at healing magic. As long as he had enough magic, he could heal himself at anytime, even while asleep.

He then realized that he was not alone. A young female sat in the shade, searching for something in a worn backpack. She was obviously a bird tribe laguz, with large wings sprouting from her back, but he had never seen wings like hers before. They were light brown and spotted with tan and white. She was wearing a dark blue sleeveless top, plain gray shorts, and tan shoes. Around her neck hung a simple necklace made from a thin leather strap which held a small off-white rock. Her short dull brown hair just barely grazed her shoulders and framed her expressionless green eyes.

She looked up from the backpack. "Who are you?" was the first question that came out of Nick's mouth.

"If you're fine now, I should leave." She stood up, her left wing touching the bark of the tree. Her eyes flicked to her wing as an already injured spot grazed against the rough bark, causing the singed skin to open and bleed. When she had rescued Nick, a fire below her had suddenly flared up and, when she tried to swerve, the fire burned the edge of her wing. She blamed herself for flying low enough to be hurt by the fire.

"Here, let me help." Before she could protest, he walked over and held his right hand above the wound. The light blue cuff began to shimmer as he focused his magic in his hand. The light blue glow enveloped the wound. She watched as the skin mended itself, leaving nothing but a small splash of blood. This Nick wiped off with a rag from his pocket. He felt a small pang of sadness, remembering the people in his camp, but shoved it away.

"So that was healing magic, right?" she asked, suddenly curious.

"Yes." He said, grinning. Most laguz were naturally curious, and she was no exception.

"Hmmm. So it can heal the skin, but cannot replace blood."

"Pretty much. I've heard tales of a special staff that can, but I've never seen it."

She noticed him grinning and turned away. "It's time for me to leave." The laguz flapped her wings and quickly ascended until she was above Nick's head.

"Hey, wait!" He called out. "Why don't we stick together? At least until we reach the town." She hesitated.

Nick was relieved when she flew back down. He didn't like being alone; not ever since his parents died. That's why he was so happy to have his sister. Whenever she hadn't been in the camp, there had still been people around. Even if they were total strangers, he took comfort in just hearing their footsteps and their voices.

"I'm Nick." He introduced.

"I'm…Midhe." she replied.

They began walking through the forest to what Nick presumed was the way to the city. He hoped Midhe knew where she was going, because he sure didn't.

"Did you save me from the bandits?" he asked.

"Yeah. I was flying by when I saw smoke and came to investigate. You were the closest, so I saved you." she answered.

"Did you see my sister, Violet?"

"I haven't seen anyone."

"Oh well. I'm sure she's fine." He convinced himself.

"Uh, yes. Why do…" she hesitated.

"Yes?" Nick questioned.

"Why do you want me to come along with you?"

He looked away for a minute, not wanting to admit his fears. "I don't know the way through this forest." It wasn't a lie at least.

"Oh, ok." She responded.

They walked on in silence. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Violet rushed at Midhe with her steel sword drawn. Just in time Midhe blocked with a simple iron dagger. The metals grated against each other, waiting for one to yield.

**I'm not sure if I portrayed Midhe's personality well in this chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway. Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter introduces one of my favorite OCs, although I'm not sure why he is one of my favorites. His name was originally going to be Nasir, but I didn't want anyone to confuse him with the dragon laguz, so I added an s.**

"Tibarn!"

The bird laguz king's thoughts were interrupted as a young raven laguz burst into his throne room. His expressionless face didn't change as he shifted in his chair to stretch his limbs. Not long ago he would have grimaced at the person before him. He had short midnight blue hair, large black wings, and sharp eyes; just like Naesala.

"Yes Nassir?"

"Where's Ulki?" he asked. "Wasn't he supposed to be with you?"

However, Naesala's and Nassir's personalities were complete opposites. So eventually Tibarn had become used to the familiar face around his territory.

"I sent him to gather some information." Tibarn answered, sounding a little bored.

"But you already sent out Janaff. Shouldn't you-"

"I'll be fine without my advisors for a few days." He interrupted.

Nassir sighed. He could argue that Janaff had been gone for a week now, but it wouldn't change anything. He left quietly, heading outside into the bright sunshine. He sat down on the grass in the shade of the large building, leaning against the stone. He noticed a few laguz children playing a game, laughing. One ran out behind a building, and the others followed to continue their game.  
>He hadn't noticed until recently how much Tibarn had changed over the past year. He briefly remembered how he had met Tibarn. One day Tibarn had been taking his daily flight to stretch his wings. He was flying above a small plain when he heard a short cry come from below a lone tree. Beneath it he found Nassir, half-dead and with an injured wing. At first Tibarn hated the sight of what looked like a younger version of Naesala, but he couldn't ignore someone that needed help.<p>

After bringing Nassir back and letting him regain his strength, Tibarn asked him if he was Naesala's son. He said he wasn't his son, but he was his cousin. Nassir had only met Naesala once, but the resemblance between them was incredible. Despite this, Tibarn eventually calmed down and allowed Nassir to stay.

But in the past year, Tibarn had become colder and more distant. Nasir couldn't even remember the last time he had heard him laugh. So far this hadn't affected how he ruled as king, but Nassir was afraid it could any day now.

If only Ulki and Janaff were here, so he could ask them what they should do. While he and Janaff had small arguments at times, and Ulki usually never said much, he still trusted their judgment. He was sort of a third advisor, but he didn't have as much experience as them and was still pretty young. Besides, it was unlikely that Tibarn would listen to him at the moment.

Maybe, Nassir thought, maybe they wouldn't come back immediately. They might meet somewhere to discuss Tibarn's behavior. And if that was true, he could meet them. If he remembered correctly, there was one place that was absolutely perfect for that. Besides, it was better to try than to sit here doing nothing.

Feeling the pouch full of olivi grass at his side, he stood up and began to flap his wings.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry that I updated so late! I hope you'll forgive me if I put up two chapters today. Anyway, please enjoy my story and please review!**

Nick was startled by the sudden clash. It took him a second before he could respond.

"Violet, stop!" he shouted. It was obvious that neither side was willing to give in.

"Look at her wings!" she yelled back, not looking away from the laguz.

"She can't be the same one! Midhe saved me at the camp!"

Violet looked from Midhe to Nick and back again. She pulled away, but didn't sheath her sword. Midhe dropped her arm and put away her dagger. They watched each other, making sure the other wouldn't attack.

Nick sighed. At least they weren't attacking now.

"So, you are his sister?" she questioned.

Violet nodded but didn't reply.

"It's going to be dark soon." Nick pointed out. "We should find somewhere to stay the night."

"The town is still about a day away." His sister said, finally sheathing her sword. The tension was still there, but it had decreased somewhat.

"We'll just camp out here then, okay?" Nick suggested. Both nodded.

While Violet and Nick were starting a fire, their stomachs growled. They hadn't eaten since yesterday. Midhe took off her backpack and looked inside for something. She pulled out a loaf of bread wrapped in large leaves. She split it into three equal parts and handed them out, keeping one for herself.

Violet accepted it but hesitated to take a bite. After watching Midhe and Nick begin to eat, she decided it was safe and ate. But then she realized something; this was beorc food.

"I didn't think laguz ate beorc food." she commented.

"Most don't," Midhe admitted. "But my species is partial to food."

"And what exactly is your species?" Violet questioned.

She hesitated, but it was obvious Violet wouldn't be satisfied until she had an answer. Sighing inwardly, she answered, "Owl laguz."

"Owl? I've never heard of them before." Nick said.

"I'm not surprised. My species left this land long ago."

"Then why are you here?" Violet asked.

"I left. I wanted to see what was outside."

"Can your race transform?"

"Yes." Midhe answered. She didn't realize until after she said it what the next question would be.

"Then why didn't you transform when I attacked? I've never seen a laguz using weapons."

"I chose not to." She answered simply. However, all these questions were starting to make her nervous.

Nick could tell that she was getting uncomfortable. "Let's just go to sleep. Who's taking first watch?"

"I will." Midhe offered. To Nick's relief, Violet didn't object. He took off his jacket and rolled it up to make a pillow. Luckily, it wasn't very cold and he doubted that it would rain. Violet leaned against a tree, with her arms crossed until she fell asleep.

Midhe agreed with Nick; she couldn't smell any rain coming. Then again, she wasn't a beast laguz. Trying to flap her wings quietly, she flew to a sturdy branch of the tree Violet was leaning on. She sat down and gazed at the full moon.

Midhe gripped her leather necklace and took comfort from the simple smooth stone that hung from it. She rubbed it absentmindedly with her thumb and closed her eyes as memories flashed through her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

After another day of traveling through the forest, they were almost at the town. Midhe had pulled a cloak out of her backpack. Nick, curious to know what she was doing, watched. She somehow moved her wings so that they were close enough to her body to hide under the cloak, as long as she wore the hood. He also hadn't realized that the backpack she wore was designed so that it would stay comfortably just below her wings.

"How are your wings able to do that?" Nick asked.

"Owl laguz wings are more flexible than other bird laguz's." she explained.

When they arrived at the town, no one seemed to notice them. Apparently they were used to armed travelers, and continued on with their business. There were even a few laguz about, even though most laguz preferred to stay in their home country.

After a trip to the general store for supplies, Midhe sensed a storm coming. So they decided to stay the night in a tavern. It was a small but cozy room with two plain beds and a window showing the street. It didn't take long before the rain was beating against the window, and they chose to close the curtains.

Midhe pulled off the cloak and stretched her wings, which were beginning to ache from being in the same uncomfortable position for so long. Violet and Nick took the beds at her insistence, while she sat down leaning against the corner. The loud rain eventually lulled her into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>Nassir, in his raven form, was flying through the rain. Even though he knew that if his feathers got too wet he wouldn't be able to fly, he had decided against his better judgment to cover more distance. It wasn't much farther now he was sure, but it was a little hard to see with the rain in his eyes.<p>

The rain struck his wings harshly, trying to weigh him down. The dark clouds dared him to keep going, and the wind was becoming wild.

It was getting harder for Nassir to fly straight, with gusts of wind suddenly appearing and attempting to throw him off course. But he still kept going, determined to make it.

When he heard the crack of thunder in the horizon, he finally decided that he needed to land. While he looked down to find somewhere to land, a sudden gust of wind slammed into his right side, sending him spiraling down into the thick forest below. Nassir desperately tried to right himself, but ended up crashing through the branches and falling to the somewhat dry grass. The impact knocked the breath out of him, making him unable to move for a few seconds.

When Nassir was able to move, he stood up and shook himself. Drops scattered onto the ground as he shook his feathers. He might be able to fly, but not in this storm. He transformed back into his human form to save energy.

The thick branches overhead shielded him from most of the rain, which was why the grass was mostly dry. He sat down, knowing that it would take at least the rest of the night before the storm blew over. This meant that it would take longer to find Janaff and Ulki, but they wouldn't be able to go anywhere either. Sighing in frustration, he decided to take a nap to pass the time.

**I hope you liked it and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

A small beam of sunlight breached the canopy of trees and landed on Nassir's naturally pale face. Nassir blinked open his eyes to discover that the storm had passed and laid there for a few moments, relishing in the warmth of the sun. He finally stood up and stretched his cramped limbs and wings. He flapped his wings slowly a few times, preparing for flight. Satisfied that his wings were in good condition, he started to flap faster until he reached the trees' large leaves and pushed his way through into bright sunlight.

Before Nassir's eyes had time to adjust something rammed right into him, sending him back a few feet in the air and almost making him fall back into the trees. He flapped his wings quickly in an effort to right himself until he was safely hovering above the forest. Still squinting, he turned to face whatever had hit him.

"Hey!" the familiar voice of Janaff complained. Nassir felt a surge of relief, but this feeling vanished with Janaff's next complaint.

"Watch it! You're flying like your feathers grew in yesterday!"

"Well, at least I was looking where I was going, Mr. Hawk King's eyes!" Nassir retorted.

"At least I'm larger than a pigeon, runt!" Janaff countered.

"At least I don't look like a girl!"

"Why you little—" Just as Janaff was about to tackle Nassir, someone suddenly grabbed the back of their shirts and pulled them back. An arrow pierced the air where they had been standing only a moment ago. Nassir looked behind him and was surprised to see who his rescuer was.

"Naesala?"

"Talk later." Naesala pointed down at a soldier's camp in a clearing, where the archer let go another arrow. Nassir swiftly moved to the right, feeling the arrow's wind brush back a few of his feathers as it missed its target.

"Should we attack?" Ulki questioned. Nassir, having not noticed Ulki before, looked over to see him watching the soldiers below.

"Maybe they can't see who we are." Nassir suggested.

"Maybe…" Janaff said, surveying the soldiers with his keen eyesight. "I've never seen this army before. But I suppose you're right. Let's go down and explain who we are."

"And what if they attack?" Naesala asked.

"If we can't avoid it, then we'll capture them. But try not to kill them." Janaff began to descend with his hands raised in a sign of peace. The rest of the group followed cautiously. Nassir glanced at Naesala to see if he cared that Janaff was leading them, but Naesala didn't seem to mind.

When he returned his gaze back to the camp, he noticed that most of the soldiers were scrambling for their weapons. There were only a few swordsmen, one mage, and one archer. The archer still held his bow as if he would attack, but Nassir didn't see him holding any arrows to attack with. He wasn't sure if this meant that they were willing to talk or that he was out of arrows. When the group touched the ground, the soldiers increased their pace.

"Peace, soldiers." Janaff used a loud and commanding voice when he spoke to them. The soldiers instinctively looked in his direction, as if he were their commander, before grabbing their weapons.

"I am Janaff, advisor to the Bird Laguz King. Who is in charge here?" The soldiers, wielding their weapons, advanced. "We only wish to know…" He stopped in midsentence as he jumped back from a slashing sword.

Everyone looked to Janaff for permission to attack. He nodded his head and they all transformed in a flash of light into their second forms. Nassir let the wind gather under his wings for a moment, watching Naesala ram into the mage and successfully rendering him unconscious. Nassir decided that he should take out the next biggest threat to a laguz, which was the archer. Nassir flew straight at the archer, who had found an arrow and was trying to get into position to fire. When the soldier noticed Nassir, he ducked with his bow in front of him, as if it were a shield. Nassir grabbed the wooden bow with his talons and easily pulled it out of the man's clutches. He then flapped his wings once to raise him a bit higher and aimed for right above the cowering soldier's head. As he flew past the bow struck the soldier's head and the man fell to the ground. Nassir stopped a few feet away and dropped the bow. He flew over the soldier for a moment, making sure he was still alive. Satisfied by the rise and fall of his chest, Nassir looked over to the others to see how they were doing.

All of the other soldiers had been knocked out without serious injury. The rest of the group had already transformed back into their regular forms and were tying up the men with rope from somewhere in the camp. Nassir quickly transformed and joined them.

"What are we going to do about them?" Naesala asked after finishing the last knot.

"Question them, of course." Janaff replied. He looked over at Ulki, who had suddenly pricked his ears. "What is it?"

"Sounds like marching." Ulki answered before flying above the trees to get a better view. Nassir, Naesala, and Janaff followed him.

Only a few miles to the north, a large group of beorc marched on a trail leading west. Nassir estimated that there had to be at least five thousand. Each soldier wore different attire, making Nassir assume they didn't have a uniform. Having watched Tibarn, Ulki, and Janaff discuss military matters a few times before, he deduced that the army did not have much money and would have little supplies, including weapons. This would be an advantage, but the disadvantage was that the mysterious army might go as far as ransacking villages for supplies.

Nassir was so focused on assessing the army that he didn't hear the commotion below. Janaff and Ulki rushed down as they heard shuffling boots and what sounded like flesh being impaled on something sharp. Naesala watched from above, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the camp.

The sound of wings flapping distracted Nassir. When Janaff and Ulki had reached their companions, the atmosphere felt much more depressing than before. Janaff pushed back his bangs with a tired sigh. "Let's just go."

Nassir, wondering what they had seen down there, was just about to look when Naesala stopped him.

"Trust me, you don't want to look." Naesala seemed the least affected by the event, but his tone ceased any curiosity Nassir had. The group began to fly away in a sullen mood, leaving the bloody and lifeless bodies behind.

**For some reason I just had to put in something about Janaff's looks. While I was playing Radiant Dawn, I honestly wasn't sure what gender Janaff was until someone called him a he. Anyway, I think I worked harder on this chapter than I did on the last ones, but that's for you to decide! I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

After taking a few minutes to compose themselves, the group of laguz managed to focus their attention back to their situation. Janaff had found a paper on one of the soldiers after he had tied them up, and had stuffed it into his pocket when he had flown up to see the army. Now that he remembered, he pulled it out to show the rest.

"What does it say?" Nassir asked. Janaff unrolled it and looked at the plain black ink on the crinkled paper.

"Your assignment," Janaff began, "is to keep the army from harm and out of sight all the way to the Vanishing Ocean. Failure means punishment."

"I guess they would rather die than be punished." Ulki commented. "But why would they be going to the Ocean? There's nothing there."

"Where's that?" Nassir asked.

"It's just another name for the Ocean." Janaff explained.

Meanwhile, Naesala was lost in thought with his hand on his chin, trying to figure out why the place sounded familiar. He knew that he had heard something about it, but what was it…

"The owl laguz disappeared into the Vanishing Ocean and took their research of eternal life with them." Naesala recited. The others turned to him in confusion.

"What?" Nassir questioned.

"It's something I heard a long time ago." Naesala answered, smoothing back his hair out of habit. "It was from an old bird laguz who had only one wing. I was at a tavern about thirty years ago to make a deal with someone. He was sitting at the bar and telling me that over and over. I just thought that he was a crazy old laguz that had too much to drink."

"Hmmm… Maybe not." Janaff thought aloud. "We should get back to Tibarn…" he suddenly shot an accusing look at Nassir.

"Why aren't you with Tibarn?" he questioned.

"I wasn't sure what to do, so I left to find you."

"But now no one's watching him! You should've stayed to keep an eye on him. Who knows what he'll do in his state." Janaff scolded.

"Isn't that your job?" Nassir retorted.

"What's wrong with Tibarn?" Naesala asked before their argument could escalate. Janaff turned to him to answer.

"I don't know. He's changed somehow. He's not friendly towards anyone, and acts like he doesn't care about anything. He just sits on his throne all day."

"Throne?"

"Yeah. We found a sort of palace, and we thought that we might be able to use it. Lately he's been using it as a house."

"Naesala, why are you here?" Nassir asked.

"Actually, Janaff and Ulki found me." Nassir turned to the two hawk laguz in confusion.

"Well, we figured that maybe Naesala knows something about Tibarn's condition." Janaff explained.

"You said that Tibarn sits around all day?" Naesala interjected, wanting to get back to the problems at hand.

Janaff nodded. "Now that I think about it, the only sun he gets is from the windows. He hasn't gotten out of his chair, much less gone outside."

Naesala thought for a moment more. "Then… I think he is being controlled."

**Here's one of those boring, talkative chapters. But I need it to explain some things, so I hope you didn't mind too much! I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sorry that I haven't updated for so long, but ever since school's been out, all I've wanted to do was be lazy. But to make up for it, I'll put up 3 chapters in one day. I hope you enjoy and please review!**

"You think he's being controlled?" Janaff questioned.

"Yes. Controlling someone's body takes a large amount of energy, so the controller will only force Tibarn to move when necessary." Naesala explained.

"Who would want to control Tibarn?" Nassir asked.

"More like who wouldn't?" Janaff pointed out. "He's the king of the bird laguz after all. I'm just surprised that they were actually able to succeed."

"How do we break the spell?" Ulki asked.

"The only way is to force the sage to stop. Once we can figure out where he is, it shouldn't be much of a problem to capture him. With all of the magic he is using on Tibarn, he won't have much energy to attack us with. Janaff, what is the closest town?"

"I think it's Laka, about an hour west of here. Why?"

"Every town has its dark side. You just have to know how to talk to people." He replied with a familiar grin.

* * *

><p>Nick glanced nervously at a nearby alley, hoping that no one was lying in wait to attack. Even with Midhe and Violet walking beside him, he still couldn't help but anxiously scan every small thing that moved. He could easily imagine each shadow cast from the harsh stone buildings hid an enemy.<p>

Although Midhe and Violet didn't show it, they were equally wary. In this section of the town, many rough looking people stood on the streets, giving them glares as they walked by. Violet kept her sword out of its sheath to show an inch of smooth steel, which would make it easier to pull out and hopefully discourage any attacks. Midhe kept her senses alert, prepared to defend or attack if necessary.

Earlier that morning, they had all decided to check out the town while they decided what to do next. It seemed appealing then, but now it felt like a mistake.

Midhe's hearing was attracted to the sound of someone running and slightly panting down the road. She cautiously grabbed the hilt of her dagger, moving so that no one could tell what she was doing inside of her cloak. The footsteps stopped and the man panted a little before talking.

"Am I late?" he asked.

"No, you're fine." Answered another male voice. "I just wanted to get out of there as

soon as I could."

"That old laguz with one wing still there?"

"Yeah. Now he's going on about how someone is going to attack the owl laguz, whoever they are."

Midhe froze and concentrated intently on their conversation.

"Crazy old laguz. Oh well. Have you been to the general store today?" Their voices faded into the distance behind her.

Nick and Violet turned around, noticing that Midhe had stopped. They quickly went back, not wanting to get separated in a place like this.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

Midhe turned her head towards the tavern that the two men had been talking in front of. "Owl laguz going to be attacked…" she muttered.

"What?" questioned Nick.

"There's someone in there I need to talk to." She explained before rushing off towards the tavern, Nick and Violet at her heels.


	10. Chapter 10

Inside of the tavern, Midhe looked around for the one-winged laguz. Tables and chairs were scattered around the dimly lit room in front of the bar. People, mostly men but a few women here and there, sat and drank at their tables. Some were cheery and would explode into laughter every few minutes, happily draining their glasses. Others were more quiet and talked low with an irritated glance at the nearby tables of loud customers.

No one looked up as they entered except the barkeeper, who only glanced at them before rubbing a glass with a bright clean rag.

"Who are you looking for?" whispered Nick, afraid of attracting attention.

"A one-winged laguz." She answered.

"Do you know him?" questioned Violet.

"No, but he may have some information." Midhe, not seeing the laguz, walked over the barkeeper.

"Excuse me."

The barkeeper looked up and set the glass down. "Yes?"

"Have you seen a one-winged laguz?"

"Unfortunately. He's been annoying my customers for some time now."

"Do you know where he is?" Midhe asked.

"I heard he's staying in an inn a few buildings down. The Mockingbird Inn, if I'm not mistaken."

"Thank you." The barkeeper only nodded his head and picked up the already sparkling glass to continue scrubbing it.

Midhe exited the tavern, blinking at the bright sunlight. She started walking down the street, searching for a sign.

"Wait, Midhe!" Violet exclaimed before grabbing her shoulder. Midhe impatiently turned around, eyes still examining the nearby stone buildings.

"Why do you suddenly need to find this person?" Violet asked. Nick came up beside her, finally catching up after being caught behind a few slow customers inside the tavern who took their time moving out of his way.

"I overheard a conversation. They said that a laguz was saying that my people are going to be attacked."

"Well, let's go then!" Nick said, starting down the street. Violet' was a little more reluctant, wishing she knew more about Midhe and her race, but decided that it could wait until later and followed.

Two buildings from the tavern, a two story structure loomed over the shorter buildings. At the top a faded sign said "Mockingbird Inn- A Traveler's Home Away From Home" in large black letters with a small gray bird in the top right corner.

Midhe pushed open the door and entered a small but cozy lobby with a desk on the right side of the room. Behind the desk stood a young woman leafing through a stack of papers. She didn't look up as they approached, but showed that she had their attention by saying, "Welcome to the Mockingbird Inn. Would you like a room?"

"No thanks. Could you tell me what room a one-winged laguz is staying in? It's very important." Midhe added.

"He's upstairs in the last room on the left." She answered, pulling out a paper with satisfaction. Midhe thanked her, but wasn't sure if the woman had heard, as she was quickly writing on a piece of blank paper.

The trio climbed up the steps, following the young woman's instructions. Just as they were about to open the door, they heard glass breaking from inside of the room. Midhe urgently flung open the door to see glass scattered everywhere and the window missing a large portion of glass. The group also noticed a few drops of blood among the glass.

For a minute, Midhe felt the urge to jump out the window and just fly down, but remembered why she was wearing a cloak. Instead she ran after Nick and Violet outside, not even bothering to look out the window. They rushed out of the lobby, irritating the owner as a few loose papers flew off of her desk.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Nick, Midhe, and Violet ran around the building through the narrow space between the walls of the inn and another structure to the backyard. They all froze for a moment when they saw the yard.

It was the one winged laguz, with spotted wings similar to Midhe's. He was lying on his back, surrounded by shards of glass. His breathing was strained and ragged, but his eyes moved to look at them. But what made them stop was the blood.

He was lying in a pool of his own blood, his one wing stained red. His shirt covered the fatal wound, soaked and clinging to the damaged skin.

Midhe shook her head to get over the shock and walked over to him, Violet following close behind. Nick looked away and stayed where he was, trying to ignore the smell in the air. As much as he wanted to use healing magic, it couldn't help the old laguz now. Midhe stopped just out of the reach of the blood and kneeled down. Before she could say anything, he slowly inhaled to speak.

"He's going…going to attack owl…with army." He choked out. "Knows how to…break barrier." He suddenly coughed, and blood tricked down from the corner of his mouth.

"Who?" Midhe asked.

He inhaled with great difficulty. "Annan."

Midhe gasped with recognition.

Then he exhaled and was still.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you know where you're going, Naesala?" questioned Nassir.<p>

"Yes. Look down there. Don't you notice the difference between here and the rest of the town?"

Nassir peered down at the town called Laka, flapping his wings every so often to keep him airborne.

In this section of town, there were less people on the streets. The ones that he could see looked like criminals; they wore scars, knives, and unfriendly expressions. The buildings looked pretty much the same, besides the faded signs and a stone crumbling away in various spots. He noticed a large red spot on the ground behind a large building, and when he looked closer it looked like a person.

"Do you see that?" Nassir pointed. Janaff shielded his eyes from the sunlight with one hand and looked down.

"Yeah, looks like someone's hurt." Janaff answered.

"If we can see it from here, then I doubt that person will be alive when we get down there." Ulki pointed out.

"We can't just leave him there either, even if he is dead." Nassir said.

"There are other people down there. Three, I think." Janaff observed.

"If they're the attackers, then we should be careful." Naesala warned.

"But we can't just go down there at full speed and attack either. How about we go down there, but keep enough distance so that we will have time to transform if necessary?" Janaff suggested. He turned back to the other laguz for their answers. Nassir, Naesala, and Ulki all nodded in agreement and prepared to fly down.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Nick, hearing wings flapping in the distance, looked over at Midhe. She would have heard someone approaching long before he or his sister would.

Midhe was still kneeling beside the dead laguz, so stiff and motionless that he could have mistaken her for a painted statue. He walked over to his sister, trying to ignore the bloodstained grass only inches away.

Midhe didn't respond as Nick approached Violet, which worried him more. Violet seemed a little shaken as well, but she was already aware of the oncoming strangers.

Nick looked up in the sky, squinting against the sunlight. Four laguz were flying down towards them, and from what he could see they were two raven and two hawk laguz. They weren't acting aggressive, but Nick was still wary and talked quietly to Violet.

"What's wrong with Midhe?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. She's not moving, and it's obvious her head isn't here." Violet answered, watching the laguz flying closer.

"I don't think they want to hurt us." Nick said, noticing Violet's gaze. "But I better help Midhe."

Violet nodded and took a few steps towards where the laguz would be landing. Nick walked over to Midhe and stood behind her, his shadow spreading over her cloaked back.

"Midhe?" he called, hoping for a reaction. After waiting several seconds, he kneeled down beside her to see her face.

Her face was pale and her eyes were unfocused, watching images that no one else could see. The only movement she made was her right hand trembling noticeably.

* * *

><p>Midhe watched as a young child ran happily around her younger sister, Mylene, playing a game. They each laughed as they bounded across the short grass in the yard, enclosed by tall stone walls.<p>

"Can't catch me!" the boy boasted.

"Yes I can, Kameth!" Mylene jumped forward and knocked the owl laguz prince to the ground, causing herself to fall as well. They sat up for a moment, laughing even harder, before picking themselves up and resuming their game.

Midhe smiled from the shadows in a corner of the walls, as did one of the other royal guards hidden in the corner opposite her. There were four royal guards total, three in corners while the other one stayed hidden in the branches of a single large oak tree. They stayed in the shadows not just because of the cover, but also to escape the warm sunlight. The children didn't seem to notice the sweat forming on their foreheads, happy to just be playing outside.

It wouldn't be much longer until they would be back inside, when the day would be hottest to avoid getting overheated.

Suddenly, a tan blur came from over the walls and flew around the yard. It knocked over Mylene, who hit her head on the tough bark of the tree as she fell. Before the guards on the ground could even transform, the blur sped right past them, creating a line of blood in the air behind it as it tore out their throats. Without slowing down, it rose higher until it was level with the laguz in the tree and blood splattered from the branches, nearly dropping onto Kameth and Mylene.

Midhe leaped into the air and, knowing that she didn't have enough time to transform, jumped in front of the prince and her sister as the creature aimed for its next target. She moved a little to the right as it sped towards her, trying to judge the distances between them. She tensed her muscles for the impact and planted her feet firmly on the ground.

Just when the creature was only a few feet away from her, Midhe sidestepped and shoved hard on its side, steering it off course into the wall behind them. She winced as pain suddenly flared on her arm, and she looked down to see a deep straight gash above her elbow. The sound of the attacker hitting the wall seemed to stir the shocked prince into action, and he quickly reached his friend's side.

"Mylene!" Kameth shouted as he shook his friend's arm desperately, his voice thick with fear.

Ignoring her injury, Midhe put herself between the prince and the enemy, finally able to examine the attacker. It was a male owl laguz, transformed into his owl form, and for some reason looked familiar. Deciding to think on it later, she was just about to transform when he suddenly sprang into the air and dove at the prince. But this time, Midhe was too slow as he flew right beside her, wind buffeting her aside, and struck his target. She felt something wet land on her right hand before she turned around, her eyes widening as she realized what it was.

Standing before her was a slender man around her age with the common sandy blonde hair of owl laguz, cut short to stay out his eyes during flight. His dark eyes surveyed his work before putting his attention on Midhe's shocked face with a sickening grin.

"Anan?" He was her old friend, who she hadn't seen for nearly a year. In all the time that she had known him, he was always a strong but kind person, so why would he do this?

"Hello, Midhe." He greeted, dragging out her name as if he were teasing her. "Doesn't look like you're very happy to see me."

"Why-"she began, Anan cutting her off with a wave of his hand.

"Just be happy I spared you and your sister. Although I don't think the king will be as merciful when he's seen what _you've_ done." Anan stood there a minute, as if waiting for her reaction.

Midhe realized he was right; if she'd been faster she could have saved the prince. She raised her hand to see a streak of blood across her palm. The _prince's_ blood.

Anan smiled with satisfaction. "It's time I left. If you live long enough to see me again, you'll be begging for me to put you out of your misery." With a flutter of wings, he was gone.

Midhe felt frozen, not even feeling the pain from her bleeding wound. She heard something shift behind her, but her gaze didn't leave her hand.

Mylene looked up at her and called her name. Midhe managed to tear her gaze away to glance at her sister's face. She looked unharmed, although she was rubbing her head with one hand.

"What's wrong with everyone?" she asked. Her eyes watched Midhe, waiting for an answer. Those innocent eyes, filled with confusion and fear…

**Finally, I got to write some action! For some reason, whenever I write action scenes, I feel like they come out too short. However, I think I did a decent job on this chapter, but that's for you to decide. As always, I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

** "**Midhe?" a soft voice called out somewhere near, startling Midhe from her memories. As her senses came back to her, she heard the flapping of wings nearby, so close that she should have heard them long before now.

She turned her head to see Nick watching her with a concerned look, and realized that her right hand was trembling. She quickly squeezed it with her other hand to stop it and stood up.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine." Midhe responded, turning around to face the current situation. She could worry about it later. Nick, unconvinced, joined her as she walked over to Violet and the approaching laguz.

The first one, and apparently the leader by how he flew slightly ahead of the others, was a hawk laguz with a slim build and sandy blonde hair. He had a young appearance, but laguz normally looked much younger than they actually were, so it would be hard to guess his age. He had two scars running down his cheeks, one on each side, and by the way his eyes moved they could tell that they were keener than even most laguz.

The other hawk laguz had a much more stern and muscular appearance. His dark brown hair naturally stood on its own, as if it was slicked back. By the way he set his bearded jaw, he didn't seem like the smiling type.

After him flew a raven laguz dressed all in black with midnight blue hair. His dark eyes observed them as he vainly smoothed back his hair, leaving only a few strands of hair to fall on his forehead.

The last of the group, another raven laguz, looked almost exactly like a shorter clone of the other raven laguz. The only difference was about six inches in height and a long, dark scar that started in the middle of his right cheek, ran down his neck, and ended just below his collarbone. His face also looked a little happier and not as tainted with guilt and remorse.

The group landed lightly on the hard ground before attempting a greeting. Nick and Midhe stood on both sides of Violet, who was silently agreed to be the one doing the talking.

"I'm Janaff and this is Ulki, Naesala, and Nassir." The smaller hawk laguz introduced, gesturing to each laguz in turn. Violet and Nick hid their surprise at the names; everyone has heard of Janaff, the Bird King's Eyes and Ulki, the Bird King's Ears. Naesala was also well known, although his name was usually said with scorn from anyone that wasn't of the raven laguz. For a moment, Nick wondered why Midhe didn't seem to recognize the names, but then he remembered that Midhe hadn't stayed in this land long.

"I'm Violet, and this is Midhe and Nick. Why are you here?" she asked, trying not to sound rude.

"We happened to be flying by when we noticed…" Janaff nodded at the dead laguz behind them. "What happened?"

"We're not sure ourselves. Midhe wanted to talk to him, but, when we arrived, we found him dying here." Violet answered.

"Why did—"

"How about we find a more private place to talk?" Naesala suggested after observing the dead laguz for a few moments.

"Ok," Violet reluctantly agreed, "But I think we should bury him first."

"You're right. We'll help you." Janaff approved.

About an hour later, and after burying the laguz in a dark cemetery, everyone sat in a large room in an inn on the edge of town. The window shutters were closed to the chilly night outside and various candles burned on tables and shelves.

"So, why were you looking for him?" Janaff asked.

"I wanted to ask him a question." Midhe answered. She shifted in her chair; she was still wearing her cloak, which trapped in the heat and made her uncomfortably warm.

"You're an owl laguz, aren't you?" Naesala suddenly questioned.

Midhe inhaled sharply, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I may not have the nose of Skirmir, but it's obvious you're a bird laguz. And why else would a laguz hide her wings these days?"

Knowing that there was no point in trying to hide anymore, she pulled off her cloak to welcome the cool air and stretch her aching wings. Janaff, Ulki, and Nassir observed her wings for a moment before returning to their questions.

"Your race left this land long ago. Why are you here?"

This was the question Midhe had feared, but had known it was inevitable. Casting a glance at Nick and Violet, she responded, "I was banished."

"Why would they banish you?" Janaff continued, although his voice seemed a little softer than before. Or maybe Midhe was too busy in her mind preparing the answer to listen clearly.

"I…" her throat tightened, not looking at anyone.

"I think we should know why you're asking us these questions first." Violet suddenly spoke up. Midhe shot a grateful look at Violet, but couldn't tell if she noticed.

"I suppose you're right," Janaff said, sitting back in his chair. "But how about we let the runt explain?"

Nassir, sitting next to the quiet Ulki, ignored Janaff's insult. "For a while now, Tibarn has been acting strange; he's not friendly towards anyone, and he's done nothing but sit on his throne for the last two weeks. He sent Janaff and Ulki away, and I left recently, too. We think that he's being controlled by someone near the Vanishing Ocean. We saw an army heading that way not long ago."

"We came here so that I could get some information from that old laguz." Naesala said, taking over. "I remembered him saying something about owl laguz and the Vanishing Ocean some years ago. He said that the owl laguz disappeared into the Ocean and took their research of eternal life with them. Anyway, it seems that the army doesn't want Tibarn to interfere, and we don't have enough time to send for help from the other nations."

A moment of silence followed to digest this information. Midhe was the first to break the silence.

"Many centuries ago, when my kind still lived in this land, a rumor started that we were researching eternal life. So many people believed this rumor that they came to our villages and raided them, searching for the secret we didn't have. Eventually, the king at the time decided that the only way for us to live peacefully would be to leave and find a new home. So my ancestors flew over the Vanishing Ocean until they found an island. However, the king was still unconvinced that we would not be found, and asked a great sage to create a magic barrier that would keep everyone out and keep us in. We have lived there ever since."

"You said that no one could get through the barrier. So how did you get here?" Nassir asked.

"My king used a special Daemon Card he received from the great sage. But it cost me my transforming abilities." Midhe explained.

"This means that someone has found a way to break through, and we can't warn the owl laguz about it." Janaff mused.

"I believe the leader of this army could be Anan. He used to be my friend, but a few months ago he attacked the owl laguz prince…and succeeded." Midhe informed. "But it's still hard to believe that he would do something like this."

"Well, we have no time to think of that now. Let's create a plan and leave tomorrow morning." Naesala suggested. Everyone nodded, including Midhe, although she could feel pain grip her heart as she tried to ignore memories threatening to engulf her mind.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Midhe sat outside behind the inn, out of sight from anyone inside. It was a moonless night, and the stars hadn't begun to appear yet.

Despite knowing the long travel tomorrow, she couldn't sleep because of the thoughts racing around in her head. Most of these thoughts included her sister, but all of them related to the past. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to shake them off like she had done countless times before.

Midhe instinctively grasped her necklace, trying to force the sadness away. She opened her hand to look at the simple stone, it's smoothed edges rubbing against her skin. It was the only thing that had kept her together all this time, but now she still felt the pain eating away at her, ready to pounce for the final move when she showed weakness.

"Midhe?" Midhe nearly jumped, then calmed down when she realized it was Nick's voice. He and Violet walked over to her and sat down next to her, as if it were perfectly normal to be outside this late.

"Why are you out here?" Midhe asked.

"Looking for you. Why are you out here?" Nick questioned.

"I wanted some fresh air." She lied.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, Midhe still clutching the necklace, hoping that they couldn't see it in the dark.

"On a moonless night, a new star was the first in the sky." Nick said.

"It was all alone in the vast sky." Violet said.

"What?" Midhe looked over at them, wondering what they could be talking about.

"It's a story our parents use to tell us." Nick explained. "The story's about a star just like that one." He pointed at the single star shining brightly in the night.

"The star waited for the moon to come. The moon was a friend to all stars, and the star felt lonely and wanted a friend. But when the moon didn't come, the star began to lose hope." Violet continued.

"Then another star appeared and told the new star that it shouldn't give up on the moon. It said that friends always believe in each other, no matter what. So the star promised to stay with the new star until the moon arrived. As they waited, more and more stars began to appear, and the new star didn't feel lonely anymore. When the moon finally came, the new star was happy and knew it could depend on its new friends." Nick finished. They sat in silence and watched as the black sky lit up with stars.

For a reason unknown to Midhe, the story reminded her of her sister. Would she still trust Midhe, even after what happened? Would Mylene look at her as a loving sister, or a scared child?

_Maybe, _Midhe thought,_ just maybe she does want to see me again. And if so, that means I have to protect her and the other owl laguz no matter what._

"Are you ready to go back inside?" Nick asked.

Midhe nodded and stood up, stretching her legs. She started to follow them, and then stopped to look up at the brightened sky.

_No matter what, Mylene, I will always love you. _Midhe silently promised. She turned around to follow Violet and Nick inside and to prepare for the travel tomorrow.

**I don't really like how this chapter came out, but I hope it wasn't too painful to read. This chapter is also the only reason I called this story Lonely Stars. Well, get ready for some action in the coming chapters. I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Are you sure we should trust them, Janaff?" Ulki asked as the group flew above the trees of a large forest. Ulki, Janaff, Naesala, and Nassir were heading to Tibarn's palace, while Nick, Violet, and Midhe were traveling to the closest town to the Vanishing Ocean;

"Yeah. They don't have a reason for betraying us, and they even gave us information. Besides, we've worked with shadier characters." He answered, indicating Naesala. Naesala glanced his way but didn't comment; he completely agreed.

"You should be cautious around Tibarn until we know for sure he's in control of himself again." Naesala advised. Nassir waited for Ulki or Janaff to comment on how Naesala said "you," but both of them seemed focused on the sky ahead.

"What—" before Nassir could finish, he felt something call out to him. He stopped and hovered with a puzzled expression, trying to discern the feeling. It hadn't spoken aloud, but Nassir's feathers felt the need to fly to the source. He looked over to see that Naesala had a similar reaction, while Ulki and Janaff where still flying ahead, as if they hadn't sensed it. Nassir flew over to the taller raven laguz and he noticed that Janaff and Ulki had stopped, realizing that they weren't following.

"You feel it, too?" Nassir questioned.

"Yes." He answered.

"Hey," Janaff called out to them. "Something wrong?"

"No. We just want to look at something." Naesala said.

"We're kind of in a hurry." Examining the look on Nassir's face, he changed his answer. "Alright. Need any help?"

"We're fine." Naesala began to fly in the direction of the strange sensation.

"Keep going. We'll catch up." Nassir added before following.

They descended until they were just above the trees and kept going until they reached an area where the feeling felt strongest. They landed on the ground, from which rocks protruded from in various points around the scattered trees. A few spots of sunlight brightened the short grass and gleamed on the jagged rocks. One ray of sunshine struck what looked like a rough stone archway, using three large stones resting on the side of a high cliff. The feeling emanated from inside of the structure's shadowed depths and seemed to pull on Nassir's muscles, urging him to come.

Naesala led the way inside of the cliff, stopping for a moment to let their eyes adjust to the dim light. The soft bluish light glowing on the walls seemed to be in the same direction as the feeling that strengthened with each step. They walked through a narrow hallway which opened to a larger square chamber.

Nassir stepped ahead and was just as quickly jerked back by Naesala. Not a moment later, a blazing sphere of fire scorched the air inches from his face.

"Thanks. Guess I owe you twice." Nassir shakily joked. Naesala released his shirt and allowed him a second to inhale deeply to calm his nerves. He observed the spot where the fire appeared, on a seemingly normal stone wall. When he looked closer, he noticed the tiniest difference in the color of the stone, which was even harder to see with the dim light. Ahead, there were at least ten more, five at chest height and five more several feet above his head.

"We can fly through them." Naesala suggested. Thinking of no other option, Nassir agreed and began to flap his wings. They rose until they could find a position where they could prepare to fly between the rows.

Asking him if he was ready, Naesala gathered some more air under his wings. Nassir nodded and they plunged through the chamber. Fireballs immediately followed, despite not being directly in their path. Once, Nassir noticed that he had gained a little more height than Naesala. Before he could adjust, a red flame with yellow at its core grazed the back of his wing. He immediately dropped a little, and then realized that he hadn't felt any pain, only a small flare of warmth.

When they reached the other side, and the crackling fireballs stopped, Nassir examined his wing. It looked normal, with not even a feather out of place. He ignored his curiosity when he noticed Naesala already walking ahead through another hallway. He quickly caught up and felt the inviting sensation from the glowing light increase.

They entered another room, smaller than the last but radiating with light. On a slab of smooth stone a staff stood without any means of support. The staff's straight wood curled around a comforting sky blue sphere at the top. Just looking at it gave Nassir the need to feel it in his hands, although he was not sure why.

"Should we take it?" Nassir asked, his voice echoing on the walls.

Naesala gestured towards the staff with his hand, hued by the glowing sphere. "Go ahead."

Although Nassir was a little suspicious of the other raven laguz's answer, he eagerly grabbed the staff.

The light suddenly gathered itself into the sphere, swirling in its depths. A voice traveled from the staff into Nassir, sending a quiet message.

_You shall bring me to my new wielder. _It commanded.

_Who is he? _Nassir thought back, instinctively knowing that spoken words would be unnecessary.

_You already know him. _An image of a young man wearing a long white jacket appeared in Nassir's vision.

_Nick? _Nassir identified._ What are you, anyway? And why did you call out to us?_

_ I am Galen, greatest of all staves. When combined with the power of my wielder, I can bring back those at the door to death. My power comes from the wisdom of every race, which is transferred from their very bones into me. You have given me the last I needed, and now that I am at full power I need to be taken to my wielder._

Nassir, still confused, walked back over to Naesala to explain what the staff had told him. Naesala took the news with surprising understanding and the quickly exited the cave. To Nassir's relief, no firebalsl shot out of the wall at them. Even though they wouldn't hurt him, it still felt unsettling to be hit by fire.

When they reached the outside, squinting from the sunlight, something clinked against the stone next to them and fell to the ground. Nassir blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes, and realized that it was an arrow.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Nassir and Naesala jumped into the air, flapping their wings once, and began to transform. As Nassir's vision became clouded by a bright light he felt his body painlessly shifting into that of a large raven.

When his vision returned, enhanced by the transformation, he examined the enemy. Four chainmail clad swordsmen rushed towards the raven laguz, while two archers readied piercing arrows.

"Naesala, we need to take out those archers." Nassir told his older cousin.

Naesala nodded. "I'm faster, so I'll do it. Try to keep their aim, but don't get hit."

Nassir flapped his wings a moment longer, gauging the distance between him, the swordsmen, and the archers. Then, with an ear splitting shriek, he sped over the men wielding gleaming blades and circled around an archer. As he expected, both men followed his movements to keep their aim. Nassir watched their hands, waiting for the slightest indication of an attack. He braced his muscles to increase his height when he noticed the shorter male's fingers tense.

Suddenly, a black blur rushed past the archer, leaving a small streak of blood and a motionless body. Naesala slowed down enough to easily swerve around a pair of trees and moved out of Nassir's sight. Before Nassir could begin another attack, a blade sliced the air on his left side. He cried out in surprise as it nicked his wing, causing a few feathers to float down onto the grass. He quickly flew around to face his attacker, and was met with another slash.

Nassir managed to dodge the blade and quickly tore the man's neck with his beak. He turned as the body collapsed to see Naesala battling against another enemy, with the other two swordsmen already dead on the rough ground. Just as Naesala finished off his opponent, an arrow pierced his wing. Naesala fell out of the air and landed harshly near the archway in a flurry of feathers.

Despite wanting to know the other laguz's condition, Nassir shifted his focus to the remaining archer. Before the man could prepare another arrow, Nassir killed him with a sweep of his talon.

He rushed over to Naesala, who had transformed back and was now shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Are you alright?" Nassir asked.

Naesala spread out his right wing, wincing. Nassir's eyes widened as he looked at the rough hole the arrow had created. Blood stained the black feathers an even darker shade around the torn skin.

"A little rest and I'll be fine. But I won't be able to fly." He informed.

"Too bad Nick isn't here. Maybe he could heal you." Nassir suddenly remembered the staff. He had dropped it during his transformation and had completely forgotten about it during the battle.

He searched around the scattered rocks until he found the staff, nestled between a jagged rock and the bark of a thick tree. When he picked it up he felt something like annoyance flash from the staff, but it left so swiftly he couldn't be sure.

"I'll stay here for a while to let myself heal. You can go on ahead. I didn't plan on facing Tibarn anyway." Naesala stated. Nassir turned around to see the older raven laguz settling down beside the stone archway, in the shade of the nearby tree.

"You never were going to come with us to Tibarn?" Nassir asked. Naesala turned his head to watch a clump of grass sway in the soft breeze. He almost seemed to be examining the green stalks to stall Nassir's question.

"Nah. It's best that I stay out of his way. I'm still surprised that he allows you to stay in his sight, much less be his advisor." Naesala looked back at Nassir. "Which shows that you have become a better person than I could ever hope to be."

Nassir, taken aback by the praise, remembered something from about six years ago. Back then, he had despised Naesala, knowing about the treachery he had unleashed as king of the raven laguz. When he had approached him, Naesala had said that Nassir would become a far better person than himself, despite Nassir's hostility. Then, Nassir had been confused, but now he was beginning to understand.

"It's only thanks to you. If you hadn't set me on the right path, then I probably would have died years ago." A moment of silence passed as Nassir contemplated about Naesala, whom he had never felt closer to than now.

"Well, you better get going before Janaff and Ulki come looking for you." Naesala said, interrupting the silence. Seeing that Nassir still looked reluctant to leave him behind, he sighed. "Look, I'll be fine. Right now you need to worry about Tibarn and those owl laguz."

"Alright. But I expect to see you again soon." Nassir said. Naesala simply nodded in response as Nassir began to flap his wings, rustling the leaves of the scattered trees.

**I was originally going to have more about Nassir in this story, but I wanted to focus more on Midhe, Nick, and Violet. So I'm going to create a prequel to Lonely Stars focusing on Nassir sometime after I've finished this story. I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

"This town is too quiet." Midhe muttered so that her voice wouldn't echo through the empty streets.

Nick and Violet nodded their heads in agreement. A blanket of silence seemed to smother the town and anyone who lived there. Doors were closed and windows covered, with only an occasional glimpse of someone's cautious eyes peering out to see who had dared to visit their town.

The trio entered a square, which held a bubbling fountain and not a person to be seen. Before they could begin to think about what to do next, a large group of men wielding weapons charged from a shadowed part of a street.

"Should have known." Midhe commented, drawing her dagger.

"Yeah. Waited until we were in the open." Violet's sword rang as it was pulled out of its sheath.

"Can you cover me?" Nick asked, drawing out his tome from his pocket. He backed up to the fountain until its cold water splashed small drops onto his white jacket. Midhe and Violet nodded and followed, standing in front of him to guard while he prepared magic spells.

Power-filled words, stronger when the tome is open, greeted his mind. He began speaking the words, feeling the magic inside of his body begin to focus on one target. Meanwhile, Midhe and Violet clashed with the enemy, clanging metal singing in the air.

When the magic inside of Nick felt ready and substantial enough for an attack, it had formed a glowing yellow sphere above their heads. The last word of the spell left his mouth and, not a second later, threads of light erupted from the sphere and struck in the center of the enemy. Many men collapsed, including Midhe's current adversary who fell to the ground. Without even hesitating, the man behind him pushed the lifeless body aside to battle the owl laguz.

Midhe parried his attack and from the corner of her eye noticed someone readying a spear, aiming at Nick behind her. She glanced over at Violet, her hands full with two enemies attacking her at once. Knowing that she would have to stop the attack herself, Midhe braced her muscles and gripped her dagger with both hands.

Using all of her strength, she pushed on the man's blade as hard as she could, causing him to stumble back in surprise into a few other foes just as the spear flew. Fully aware of what little time she had, Midhe reached up her weapon into the spear's path.

The metals collided, jarring her arm, but she felt satisfied as the spear clattered to the ground.

Suddenly a sharp pain blossomed from her other arm as a sword cut a deep gash on her forearm. She winced in pain and brought her arm back down, but another blow was already coming. Just before it connected with her stomach, a spear of light pierced the man's chest.

Gratefully, she looked back at Nick, who had closed his tome. Midhe turned to Violet to watch her kill the last enemy, who crumpled to the ground. She blinked in surprise; only a moment ago enemies had filled her vision.

Violet, her sword dripping blood, kneeled next to a fallen foe and used his cloak to wipe her blade before placing it in her sheath. Midhe did the same and surveyed the area. From what she could see, there were no more enemies and no one watching from a hidden perch.

"I think that went pretty well." Violet said, clearly satisfied with her skills. And with Midhe's, too.

Midhe nodded "But it also means that the enemy knows we're here."

"I guess so. But if all we have to face are these goons, then we should be fine."

"Maybe."

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere by standing around. We better start searching." She said, then noticed Midhe's still bleeding arm. "Hey Nick, could you fix Midhe's arm before we go?"

Violet waited a few moments. "Nick?" she asked, turning around. Her eyes widened, and Midhe whirled around to see what had surprised her.

Nick's tome lay on the ground, with no sign of its wielder.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

** "**No…" Violet whispered. She slowly walked over to the tome with an expression of disbelief. She carefully picked it up and grasped it tightly, almost as if it were a part of her brother. Which, in a way, it was.

Violet suddenly turned around, her eyes flashing with anger. Midhe nearly stepped back in surprise at the ferocious look on her face.

"Violet," Midhe began, "I'm sure Nick's fine. We just have to find him." A gasping noise sounded behind them, and both females turned to look. In the center of the mass of bodies a single man, panting, struggled to sit up.

Violet stomped over to him, heedless of the corpses she sometimes stepped on but ignored in her anger. Before the man could understand what was happening, Violet had gripped the collar of his shirt and roughly pulled up his head with a glare.

"Where does your leader hold prisoners?" she demanded.

"I'm not going to tell you." He sneered, although sweat began forming on his forehead.

Violet growled and put her free hand on the hilt of her sword. The man gulped visibly.

"In the b-basement of the m-mansion, where he stays."

"Where is it?"

"On the w-west side of town."

Her grip on his shirt tightened, and for a moment Midhe believed she might actually kill him. Instead, Violet shoved him aside and began trotting over to the west road. When she left the cluster of bodies, she broke out into a run. Midhe followed, having to use her wings to gain speed just to catch up to her.

"Violet!" Midhe shouted when she had caught up. "I'm sure Nick's fine! You-"

"You don't understand! If he's left alone, he could—" Violet shook her head.

"But isn't it better if he is?" Midhe asked, confused.

"Not ever since that day." Her eyes remained focused on the road ahead. Before Midhe could ask, she continued. "When we were younger our village was attacked by a laguz with wings like yours and his goons. Everyone was killed, and we got separated. Somehow I was knocked out, but when I woke up, everything was quiet. When I finally found Nick, it took me days to calm him down again. Ever since then, he can't stand total silence."

"I doubt they'd leave a prisoner without a guard." Midhe assured.

"In this case, I hope so." Violet muttered before rounding a bend.

Nick fell against the hard stone floor as his captor pushed him inside of a cell. He heard the door shut and lock behind him. While he sat up he noticed that the man's footsteps rceded, meaning he had no one to guard him.

Nick stood up and tried to summon his magic, but without his tome he couldn't concentrate it onto a single purpose. After a moment he gave up and looked through the small barred window in the door, only to see more similar doors. From what he could tell, it seemed that he was the only prisoner at the moment.

Suddenly the impact of the silence struck his ears. Absolutely nothing made a sound. He quickly began scuffing his feet on the floor, but soon he became tired and had to stop. The silence afterward was even more deafening than before.

Images began flashing through his head; dead bodies, blood, and the quiet. He clutched his head in his hands in an effort to stop the images, but they kept racing through his mind. His mother and father fighting, then dying in front of his eyes. The villagers he knew so well being slaughtered ruthlessly.

And then the sight he had never wanted to see again. Violet, half obscured by the fighting bodies, trying to get to Nick. Nick desperately shoving his way through, only to be pushed back even farther. Hearing Violet's scream as she was struck by a weapon, her blood flying in the air…

Nick's scream filled the cell and the hallway, for no one to hear.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

"Think we can kill them quietly?" Violet whispered, peering around the wall. Only two guards stood there, looking bored while muttering to each other every once in a while.

"Easy." Midhe answered. "And if we encounter any enemies, which I'm sure we will, I'll be a distraction." Violet nodded. Midhe prepared for Violet's order, flexing her wings impatiently.

"Now!"

Midhe and Violet sprang out of hiding, Midhe quickly slashing his throat while Violet easily stabbed the other in the gut. Both slumped to the ground without a sound, leaving the average looking door unprotected.

They infiltrated the mansion, trying to find the stairs to where the prisoners were held. The duo ran through many hallways with a surprising lack of enemies. It took several minutes to find the stairs, but when they did, many guards greeted them with drawn weapons.

After easily dispatching the guards, they rushed down the steps and into a dark corridor. Doors with barred windows lined each wall, but only one looked locked. Hey walked over to that door and looked through the bars.

"Nick?" Violet could see his bright white jacket in the darkness.

"V-Violet?" came Nick's shaky answer.

"Hold on. We'll get you out!" Violet swung at the lock with her sword using all of her strength. She somehow broke it off on the first try, although the sword rebounded and she had to stop it before it could hit her or Midhe. Violet sheathed her sword and pushed open the door.

On the floor huddled Nick, trembling noticeably. His eyes seemed to gaze off into the distance before focusing on the duo that had saved him.

"Are you alright, Nick?" she asked, kneeling beside her brother.

"F-fine." He answered. "I remember how you almost died…" Violet suddenly hugged his trembling form, surprising Midhe at her affection.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm still here, and so are you and Midhe." She soothed. After a few minutes his shaking stopped and Violet let go, although his eyes still looked haunted.

"Sorry about that." He apologized.

"Don't be. In fact, without you, we may not have found out where this place was." Violet said.

"The sage should be in this building." Midhe informed. The others nodded.

"When we get past the guards it should be easy to defeat him." Violet said confidently.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we should let our guard down. He could still manage an attack, which we don't want to be hit by." Midhe pulled gently at her wings, reminding them that laguz are weak against magic attacks.

"You could just stay outside while we fight." Nick suggested.

Midhe shook her head. "No, I want to fight. Besides, magic can attack from pretty much anywhere, so that wouldn't do much good."

"Okay, just let me handle close combat. That way he can't shoot off a short-range spell at you." Violet offered. Short- range spells typically took less time to form, although they're weaker than other spells. Even one as small as that could cause significant damage to a laguz.

Midhe and Nick agreed with the plan and started back up the stairs.

**I can't believe I just now remembered my first reviewer! Thanks Gunlord500! (sorry I took so long to remember!) As always, I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

"Ready?" Violet whispered outside of the only room in that section of the building. They were on the very top floor, which was evident by the window at the end of the short hallway. It was almost like a hidden place, as the stairs were at the very end of an unnecessarily long and complicated hallway.

Nick nodded and Midhe quietly drew her dagger. Violet, who had already unsheathed her sword, quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

They sprang into the room, only to be attacked with a small fireball. Everyone easily dodged and faced the opponent. The weak fire spell simmered into the wall behind them before going out completely.

Behind a desk cluttered with documents and tomes sat a stout man with a short trimmed beard. His robes, made of expensive material that increased magical abilities, indicated his high status. Besides his clothing, he didn't look like much of an opponent. Despite this, the trio began their assault, knowing full well the power of a well-trained sage.

Violet charged with her sword raised, Midhe not far behind. Nick stayed off to the side, preparing a spell.

Just when Violet's blade would have sliced the sage, lightning darted from his fingers. Caught off guard, she didn't have enough time to stop her attack. Midhe, also unprepared, lowered her dagger and pulled Violet back. However, they were still easily in the line of fire. The crackling lightning shot from his fingers, the final word quietly spoken.

Only a few feet in front of Violet and Midhe, a sphere of light appeared. The two different spells met in a flurry of sparks and bright light as they canceled each other out. At the same time, heat seemed to spread and washed over everyone in the room. They turned to see Nick with his palm outstretched towards them. A bead of sweat streaked his brow from the abrupt shift in concentration and the heated air that had erupted from the collision.

As all magic users knew, it is difficult to change where the magic will go when you are speaking the final sentence. Nick, being no exception, had barely managed it. Even the sage seemed somewhat impressed by the twitch of his eyebrow, before his expression turned smug again.

"Hm. Looks like I have unexpected guests in more than one place." The sage spoke in a deep voice with what sounded like a hint of mockery. "I wonder what kind of welcome they are expecting. And how it feels to be killed by the leader you revere so much."

The trio froze, realizing what he meant. Surely Tibarn wouldn't allow himself to kill his own advisors, but the sage's influence over his mind was strong…

Midhe shook her head to clear his words from her mind. "If we take him down now, he can't hurt the others!"

Violet and Nick snapped out of their brief daze, but not before they realized that the sage had begun muttering a fire spell. Flames sprouted in the air around him, waiting eagerly to attack. Midhe and Violet braced their muscles to dodge while Nick began his own spell, hoping he could finish in time.

The sage finished the last word.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Here we are," Nassir breathed, looking up at the large palace. Stones, carefully placed by their long dead architects, fit together like a puzzle to create a sturdy structure. The stones were a little uneven in places from various storms over the years, but that seemed to be the only flaw from the outside.

After a few days of traveling, Nassir, Janaff, and Ulki had arrived. It felt good to be home again, but at the same time they all knew that they needed to keep up their guard.

"Remember, Tibarn could still be under the sage's control." Ulki reminded.

"In other words, runt, don't get close to him until we know for sure." Janaff rephrased. Nassir shot an irritated glance Janaff's way, but his attention stayed on the building before them. It was hard to believe that the mighty Tibarn wouldn't be able to control his own body. It made Nassir wonder what the bird laguz king was thinking of right now. Did he feel powerless? Did he blame himself for getting controlled in the first place?

Janaff and Ulki walked up to the tall wooden double doors. Nassir followed, the staff called Galen banging annoyingly against his leg as he walked. He had hooked it to his belt to avoid carrying it, although he almost tripped over it a few times. It also reminded him that getting Tibarn back wouldn't be the end of it. They would still have to reach Midhe, Nick, and Violet and save the owl laguz. He had no idea how they would go about that, but the most important task at the moment was making sure Tibarn had control of himself again.

Janaff reached out to pull open the doors, but seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, setting his jaw, he tugged on the cold metal ring that formed a handle

The large slab of wood didn't even creak as it slowly opened. It finally reached its full range and halted. Janaff, Ulki, and Nassir stepped inside.

Everything looked exactly the same as it had when they had left. The sunlight still shone in the same places out of the windows, the rough walls still enclosed the enormous room before leading to the back, the plain throne still standing in the same spot. And, most importantly, the bird laguz king still sat in the same position.

Tibarn's eyes flicked over to them and seemed to spark with recognition. But he didn't bother to move or even raise his head from where it was propped with his hand. Janaff took a cautious step closer while Nassir and Ulki watched intently. Obviously, Tibarn was not free of the mind control yet.

"Hey, Tibarn." Janaff greeted. "How have you been?"

When Tibarn didn't answer, Janaff spoke again. "Any ne—"

"You don't have to pretend." Tibarn said in a dull voice. "You're friends are already here." Realizing that he was talking about Midhe, Nick, and Violet, Janaff dropped his friendly act.

"Just give him back and we might let you live." Janaff ordered.

A few seconds of silence followed, almost as if Tibarn was hearing another conversation. "It seems that they're weaker than I thought."

"They will defeat you. They'll—" Suddenly, without giving the trio no time to react, Tibarn leapt from his throne. He crossed the room in the blink of an eye and immediately stood before them. Janaff stepped back in surprise while Ulki tried to shield them from the attack.

The bird laguz king easily slammed Ulki to the ground before grabbing Nassir and Janaff by their necks. He placed his foot on Ulki's throat and raised the two smaller laguz in the air until they were a foot from the floor. All of this happened in only a few seconds. Nassir's and Janaff's wings flapped, trying to get them away from the threat. However, this didn't last long as their strength began to wane and their wings went still. They desperately clawed at Tibarn's hands, which caused no damage at all to his tough skin.

"You all will die." He hissed, tightening his holds and putting more pressure on Ulki's throat. None of them could breathe, their lungs wanting to burst from lack of air.

From the corner of his eye, Janaff could see Nassir's arms fall to his sides and his eyes close. In Janaff's position, he couldn't see how Ulki was doing. He felt his own arms' strength sapped until he also had to let go. He thought desperately as black dots appeared before his eyes.

_Midhe, Nick, and Violet, please hurry._

**I'm not sure why, but I feel kind of proud of this chapter. This is one of the scenes I had thought of from the very beginning. I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

Flames surged towards them, eager to burn flesh. Violet moved to the side, which happened to be closer to Nick. Nick muttered a quick but weak spell that could only manage to change the flames course.

Midhe, who was also trying to get closer to Nick, jumped back. Just when she tried to run over to them, fire barred her way, forcing her to move back. At that moment, the trio realized what the sage was doing; taking them down one at a time, starting with Midhe.

Midhe stepped back only to find that she had reached the wall. The fire spell continued its path, some of the flames curving to reach its target.

Mind racing, Nick began reciting another spell, his mouth moving so fast that he barely punctuated the words correctly.

Midhe looked around, seeing nothing but flames. The ceiling was too low for her to fly over, and infernos crisscrossed around her. And still more came, spiraling at her with terrifying speed. She shielded her face with her arms, pulled her wings in as tight as she could, and prepared for impact.

A small sphere of light appeared in front of Midhe just as the flames struck. Many of the flames struck the light magic and were sent in all other directions. However, to Nick's and Violet's dismay, a few also curved around it.

She cried out as the fire seared her left arm and wing. Nick and Violet could only hear her as the fire blocked their vision. When the magic disappeared, which only took a few seconds but felt like hours, they could see the owl laguz again.

Midhe slumped against the scorched wall, eyes closed and teeth gritted in pain. Her arm, covered in burns from shoulder to hand, hung at her side. The wing hadn't seen nearly as much damage, but the skin was singed and some feathers had been burned off.

"Midhe!" Nick shouted, hoping for an answer. She opened one eye glazed with pain, but at least she was conscious. Nick and Violet rushed over to her side. Nick kneeled beside her and started healing her wounds while Violet stood in front of them, sword pointed at the sage. As the magic mended skin, Nick began to realize how much magic he had used. He was beginning to feel tired, and his magic supply felt drained. He would have enough to heal Midhe, but he would have very little afterwards.

"Looks like you're faring just as well as your friends. They'll run out of air soon." The sage informed with a satisfied grin.

"I'm fine." Midhe said, trying to stand up. Despite Nick's protests, she managed to stand confidently.

"But I haven't healed your wing yet!" Nick argued.

"It'll be fine. We need to take him down and help the others."

"Alright, but be careful." Violet said ahead of them.

Midhe picked up her dagger that she had dropped and made a fighting stance.

The sage smirked before starting yet another spell. Midhe rushed at him from the side, trying to get his attention. It worked as his eyes followed her, not noticing Violet coming from behind.

"You miserable owl laguz. You're not even near as strong as our leader." He mocked.

"We'll see about that." She murmured. The sage looked down in surprise to see the tip of a blade sticking out of his chest, the last thing he would see before he died.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

Tibarn suddenly released them and jumped back, holding his head. Janaff landed on his knees, gasping for breath and rubbing his neck. After he regained his breath, he looked over to see how the others were doing. Ulki sat up, and besides the large bruise on his neck, seemed fine.

Relieved, he looked to his other side to check on Nassir. The raven laguz lay sprawled on the ground, not breathing.

"Nassir!" Janaff exclaimed. Janaff and Ulki rushed to his side, and Tibarn looked up to focus his eyes on the motionless Nassir. Janaff and Ulki kneeled by his side, desperately wanting to help their friend but unsure of what to do.

Tibarn whacked Nassir's back, startling Janaff, who hadn't noticed his approach. Nassir suddenly gasped and coughed.

Everyone sighed with relief as Nassir opened his dark eyes. He shakily tried to raise himself up.

"You should rest." Tibarn insisted.

"I'm fine now, thanks." Nassir said. He looked up at the other laguz with a tired grin. "Although I have a nice bruise."

After recuperating from the shock of almost losing a friend for a few minutes, Tibarn asked what was going on.

"We can tell you on the way." Janaff urged, starting to head for the door. "To put it simply, a whole race that we never knew existed is going to be wiped out unless we help."

When Tibarn gave a confused look, but trusted his advisors. "How many soldiers will we need?"

Janaff stopped for a moment at the exit of the palace. "As many as we can get."

Outside the building, Nick, Midhe, and Violet noticed a few people peeking out of their windows. The visible part of their faces showed curiosity and, possibly, hope. However, the trio knew that they didn't have time to stick around.

They immediately left for the town closest to the Vanishing Ocean, where they planned to meet up with Janaff and the others.

While Nick and Violet traveled by land, Midhe flew above them, although she had to occasionally turn back to keep with their pace. To Midhe, it felt agonizingly slow, and her wings itched to just soar off into the distance as fast as she could. But instead she stayed with Nick and Violet, not wanting to be separated or have to face Anan alone. Even though he may have been her friend once, he had completely changed, and now he had become her worst enemy. She even felt a little frightened at the thought of battling him, but dismissed the thoughts to focus on the sky ahead.

Five days later, Midhe caught sight of buildings and quickly reported it to Nick and Violet. Their pace increased until they were at a full blown sprint, eagerly looking for the signs of civilization.

They reached a small fishing village surrounded by trees and shrubbery. Children ran around the huts, playing various games to avoid boredom. Women wearing dirty aprons continued with their chores, such as laundry or making dinner. The men, most wearing worn straw hats to protect their faces from the sun, stood around talking amongst themselves. But Midhe noticed that something was off about this cheery village.

"Shouldn't the fishermen be fishing?" Midhe asked. Fishermen usually worked until the sun went down; it was unusual to see them just standing around.

"I would think so." Nick agreed.

"There's a path. It must lead to the docks." Violet pointed at a worn path almost hidden between large bushes. "Wait, do you think—"

"Anan is here." Midhe realized. They quietly rushed through the foliage, trying to stay directly on the path to avoid being seen, and stopped when they noticed cliffs ahead. Hidden in the greenery, they all gasped at the sight before them.

**I was so busy today I almost forgot to put this up. Luckily, I did remember and here it is! I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	24. Chapter 24

Hundreds of men and women lined the cliffs. Swords, axes, knives, and many more weapons gleamed brightly in the sunlight. Mages and sages far outnumbered the other soldiers, obviously ready to battle laguz. Each person kept their attention on the figure flying before them, drinking in his very appearance.

Anan hovered above the water a few miles below, ignorant of the frothy waves that rose every now and then. Obviously prideful, he opened his arms wide to address his army. Everyone, including Midhe, Nick, and Violet, intently listened to his words.

"Soldiers, today we will break the barrier separating our world from theirs. Those treacherous owl laguz will never be able to keep the secret of immortal life to themselves again! We will live forever!" Anan shouted. This was met with shouts and applause from the troops.

"Yeah, right." Violet mumbled. Midhe simply observed Anan, having a hard time believing that he used to be her friend. And yet…she still kind of wished he was.

She watched as he reveled in the praise from his army. He was prepared to kill the owl laguz, his own race, his own king. She could tell in his eyes that the friend she had once known was gone, forever. She set her jaw and pushed away the hope of ever seeing her friend again.

"We have to wait for Tibarn's army." Nick reminded, noticing Midhe tense. She didn't answer, which worried him, but he ignored it and turned back to the scene.

"Wait," Violet said, "Even if they do break the barrier, how would they cross the ocean without boats?"

"Well, if you have a large group of magical users that have mastered their magic, it is possible to create a solid platform. Normally magic can only remain in that state for a few minutes. But," Nick added, "with this many, I have no doubt that he could use it as a bridge for his army."

_Come on Tibarn_, Midhe thought, _where are you?_

"Soldiers, are you ready?" Anan questioned. As expected, a flurry of cheers rose to meet him. "Sages, mages, prepare your attack!"

Something flew past Nick's vision. He turned to see that the space Midhe had occupied only moments before was empty. With a terrified realization, he looked at the sky before the cliffs.

Midhe, a light brown blur in the sky sped towards Anan. Nick reached out and nearly shouted her name, but Violet pulled him back into the bushes before anyone noticed.

"We can't do anything now. Just watch until Tibarn's army arrives." She whispered.

"But—"

She silenced him with a look, although he suddenly noticed the lines of worry on her face. Helplessness washing through him, Nick twisted around to face the cliffs.

Anan, a smirk present on his face, easily moved to stop Midhe in her tracks. The blur suddenly solidified to show Midhe struggling in Anan's grasp, who had a tight hold on her right wing. Her wing felt like it was being torn from her back, while her other flapped uselessly.

"You always were a fast one." Anan commented. "Maybe if you could still transform, you might have actually gotten ahead of me."

"Why would you turn against us?" Midhe hissed, trying not to show her pain.

"It's only fair."

"But you used to be my friend!" Midhe blurted, instantly regretting her words.

"Maybe once." He answered, his smirk gone. "But you abandoned me, just like everyone else."

Midhe quieted and tried to loop up at him. "I never did that. Yes, I accepted my position, but I didn't stop being your friend."

"The moment you did that without me I realized that the only way to get anywhere was to do it myself. Just like the king and everyone else, you despised me for my father."

She remembered the stories she had heard about Anan's father from when she was younger. About how he murdered several owl laguz for no apparent reason, and then went on to try to assassinate the king before being killed. "That's—"

"So I will show them what I can do!" Anan exclaimed, grinning maliciously. "And just think, it's all because of you." Midhe froze in her tracks, but Anan continued.

"Because of you, everyone will die. Even that annoying little sister of yours. I will watch them burn and drop dead by my army! That one little decision will cost thousands of lives."

Back down on the land, Nick whispered, "Why is he telling her this?"

"To give her punishment worse than death." Violet's voice sounded chilling in her brother's ears.

"Well, I do believe I'm a little behind." Anan stated. He shouted his next words to indicate orders for his troops.

"Sages of all elements! Strike this traitor down at once. But don't use your full power," he added, "for we still have business with the king."

"No!" Nick yelled. Violet worriedly grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and scanned the soldiers to see if anyone had heard. But everyone's attention was on Anan and Midhe, especially the sages. Although Nick knew that his magic would be nothing compared to so many sages, he desperately wanted to do something, but what?

In only seconds several spheres of all types of magic hovered in the air, waiting for the signal to attack.

Anan squeezed Midhe's wing one last time. "Be glad that they're not using full power." And he threw her into the air.

Midhe, still in shock, tried desperately to get her wings to move. Her efforts were futile as only a second later she became enveloped in devastating magic.

Nick and Violet numbly watched Midhe, smoke and feathers trailing behind her, fall towards the sea.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

Midhe felt the full force of the attack. The burn of fire, slash of wind, sting of thunder, fury of dark, and the intensity of light magic, all at once. During that incredibly long moment, she couldn't see, breathe, or even have time to understand what was happening. She felt intense pain all over her body for a terrible instant; but, just as suddenly as it began, the pain stopped.

Strangely, she couldn't feel anything but her own hazy thoughts. Time seemed to slow down in her dazed state.

Midhe knew of the Vanishing Ocean inevitably waiting below, ready to engulf her in its depths. And she also knew she couldn't do anything to stop her descent.

_So,_ she thought, _this is the end?_

Mylene's face appeared before her eyes, cheerful eyes smiling up at her. Then it changed into a look of pure fear, which stabbed at Midhe's heart. _My dear sister, I have caused you so much pain, and now you could be killed because of me. Even if you live, would you look at me with the same love as before?_

Midhe quickly doubted it. _Even if you despise me, I could never love you less._

Her blurred vision picked out two shapes hiding among the bushes, who had to be Nick and Violet. _Violet, you are a better sister than I could ever hope to be. Please, protect Nick, as I wished I could have protected Mylene. And Nick…thank you. _

_ So many people will die today because of my own foolishness. _She scorned. _I suppose this is only a fitting punishment for one such as myself. I am worse than Anan. _

Exhaustion washed over her, coaxing her eyes to close. She gave into the fatigue and closed her eyes with one final thought;

_I'm sorry._

**Sorry for this being so short, but I felt like I should make it its own chapter. I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	26. Chapter 26

Suddenly, a figure traveling so fast that Nick and Violet couldn't make it out, caught Midhe. It then, just as quickly, flew onto the cliff only a few feet away. Wind blew back their hair as the Bird Laguz King descended to the ground, Midhe in his arms.

Violet gasped behind him, but Nick didn't noticed. All he could think of was Midhe's battered body. Tibarn set her down on the grass, feathers falling around her. Various wounds covered her body, sealed shut by burns from the magical fire. Her wings were almost bare of feathers and scarred deeply. Only one thing seemed to have come out of the attack completely unscathed; the necklace she wore around her neck. The small stone hung from its strap as it always did, not a trace of disfigurement.

The bushes rustled behind Nick as Violet rose to walk towards Midhe. The sound snapped him out of his daze and he immediately rushed over to her side. He quickly raised his hands and began to summon healing magic to his palms. With tremendous effort, he managed to focus on her non-breathing body. Tibarn, a grim expression evident on his face, watched on. Violet did as well, but tried to stay out of Nick's sight so that he wouldn't notice the tear trailing down her cheek.

He poured every drop of magic he could muster into his hands, which glowed a soft blue above Midhe's battered frame.

After what felt like hours draining his magic, but was only about a minute, he realized that he had barely affected even the smallest of injuries. With frustration, he knew that his simple magic was no match for these wounds. Nick pulled back his hands and sat back. _This can't be it. I can't let you die! _He wailed in his head.

Tibarn turned his vision from the despairing boy to the sudden battlefield only a few yards away. Bird laguz choked the skies in their transformed states, often joined by the bright magic flaring from the magical users. Splashes could be heard as both laguz and enemy fell off of the cliff into the frothing water below.

Three laguz flew over, who Tibarn recognized to be his advisors.

"How do you fly so fast?" Nassir asked, panting slightly. Tibarn simply shifted his eyes to the beaten body of Midhe. Everyone fell silent, taking in the sight before them.

Although Nassir felt tempted to ask what happened, he also knew that this was simply not the time to be asking. _And Nick looks exhausted. _He thought. _He must have used all the magic he had. _

A small leaf lightly stuck to the back of Nassir's shirt. He reached behind him and pulled it off, rubbing his arm against the staff in the process. His eyes widened in remembrance and he hurriedly pulled it out of his belt.

"Nick." He called out softly. The beorc slowly looked up, his eyes laced with misery. Nassir handed the staff to Nick, wondering if he felt a small glimmer of gratitude flash from the orb as he released his grip.

Nick started at the voice speaking inside of his head. _Hello, my master. _

_What? What are you? _Nick asked

_I am Galen, and have long awaited the day I would meet you. _Before Nick could say anything else, it continued. _But I can explain later. I believe you want to help someone?_

_Midhe! _He exclaimed, jerking himself back to the present. _Can you save her?_

_Together we can do many things that you could not before. Place me before the laguz. _

Nick obliged, quickly holding the staff in between him and Midhe, impatiently waiting for an answer.

_This will be difficult. Not only is her body greatly wounded, but her soul is as well. The only way to bring back her spirit is to delve into the world inside of her mind. However, you will have to overcome your own challenges first. _The staff explained.

_It doesn't matter. I need to save Midhe!_

_ Then, _it stated, _I will lend you my full power. Just remember, if you die there, you will die here as well. _

Magic surged into Nick, restoring both his confidence and strength. The Staff's last words echoed in his ears as he closed his eyes and prepared for whatever would be coming next.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	27. Chapter 27

Nick found himself in a barren landscape with no end in sight. The uneven rust colored ground met the dark purplish-blue sky. Despite the lack of a light source, Nick was somehow able to see clearly ahead.

Silence filled his ears, prompting images to start forming. The same images he saw in nightmares, of his town being massacred, and Violet's near death…

Nick shook his head to clear his mind before he could succumb to fear. Right now Midhe needed him, whether she believed so or not. And he wouldn't let something so small stop him.

Nick looked around, but saw nothing but the same horizon on all sides. Finally, he decided to choose a direction at random and took a step forward.

He suddenly heard rocks crunching underneath him. He jumped back just as large white crystals shot out of the ground, ripping the end of his jacket. Spikes erupted all around him, and he was very nearly impaled a few times. After only a few seconds, spikes covered the earth, barely leaving enough space to walk.

If this weren't bad enough, Nick noticed that the earth looked unstable under his feet, cracking and breaking in numerous places. He peered through the cracks, and noticed that there seemed to be nothing but darkness below the inch of parched soil. He instinctively knew that if he fell down there, he would never come back up.

He looked back up at the crystals before him, and noticed that an image had formed in the crystals. He focused in on one and nearly jumped back, only the memory of the spikes behind keeping his feet fastened to the ground.

The image showed the very scene he saw in every one of his nightmares. Violet, defenseless and injured, in the throng of battle. One attacker targeting her, preparing his blade to come into contact with flesh…

He tore his gaze away with great effort and, taking a deep breath, Nick started maneuvering around the crystals and watching where he put his feet. He had to keep moving quickly, since most of the time the ground would start to crumble underneath his boots.

Once, he had misjudged the distance between a few crystals and took too long searching for a way through. The soil beneath him began to crumble, and he found himself falling.

Nick hurriedly grabbed onto a crystal, so sharp that it bit into his hands, to keep himself away from the darkness underneath. He tried to avoid the sight reflecting from the crystal, using his hands to feel the glass-like surface. He moved himself to the other side of the spike and lowered himself back onto the ground. However, it too began to crumble, which meant he had to keep going. The gashes in his hands automatically healed themselves, leaving nothing but blood stains.

After what felt like hours, he finally found stable ground. He sat down for a moment, still on edge but needing rest. When he had stopped panting, he walked ahead to see something besides spikes in the distance. He trotted over to it, realizing that the spikes seemed to have thinned out and disappeared completely as he got nearer to the object.

A crystal dome stretched over the dry soil. Nick peered inside to see a familiar figure.

"Midhe!" She didn't seem to hear him. Her back faced him as she hugged her knees, her wings drooping.

"Midhe!" he shouted again, pounding on the semi-transparent mineral. Receiving no response, he searched his mind for a spell. Although he didn't have his tome or staff with him physically, he could still sense their influence on his magic. One spell that he had never seen before popped into his mind, which he began to recite. Despite the unfamiliar words, he knew that the staff was somehow giving it to him specifically for this purpose.

As with other incantations, a sphere of light magic formed above him. Incredible energy that he hadn't known he possessed traveled through his words into the sphere. He poured magic into the spell until he sensed that it needed no more. He stepped back from the dome just as he uttered the last word.

The light magic turned into a blazing comet and circled around in the air a few times. It rocketed skyward until it was nothing more than a shining dot in the sky, reminding him vaguely of a star.

The comet then plunged downward in the direction of the dome. Its speed caused the air to scream as it flew by and ruffled Nick's hair. It struck the crystal in a flash of blinding light and the sound of something being shattered heard. Nick had to shield his eyes and felt a few shards scrape against his skin.

When he opened his eyes again, all that was left of the dome was the glittering shards scattered everywhere. Midhe still sat in the same position, as if she hadn't noticed. Nick walked to her, crunching debris under his boots.

He stopped within a few feet of the owl laguz. "Midhe?"

__Her ears pricked, showing that she had heard, and she slowly turned her head. Her eyes lit up with surprise, but just as quickly filled with sadness.

"You should leave, Nick." She said hollowly.

"Come with me." He offered.

Midhe shook her head. "I can't. It's my fault all of this is happening."

"No, it's not. Don't take all of the blame. It's Anan's fault, not yours."

"But I made him that way. When I became a royal guard and he didn't, I told him I wanted to keep my position. I hurt him and made him do all this."

"How were you supposed to know that would happen?" Nick questioned. "Everyone makes mistakes. But this one isn't yours."

"When I failed him as a friend, I doomed my fate. I wasn't able to protect the prince, and my sister…" She swallowed. "How can she ever see me the same again after I let her best friend die?"

"Because she's your sister and she'll love you no matter what. Just like Violet is with me."

"That doesn't change what I've done."

"True. But you can still change the future if you come with me. We can save your people, your king, and your sister."

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with hope. "Even after all this, you still believe I can make the right decisions?"

"Of course." He held out his hand. "Let's go defeat Anan. Together."

Her eyes flickered to his outstretched hand, to his face, and back to his hand. She stood up slowly, but hesitated.

"Do you really believe what you said?" she asked. Nick simply nodded, the smile on his face the only sign she needed. Midhe, now grinning herself, gripped his hand firmly as a shining light blinded their vision.

**I don't really like the conversation between Nick and Midhe turned out, I just feel like I should somehow have made it more emotional. Well, is everyone ready for the final battle? **

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	28. Chapter 28

Nick opened his eyes to see Midhe looking up at him with a small smile. He grinned back, and then remembered about the others around him as they turned to look at him. Only Nassir and Violet remained, whose expressions lifted at Midhe's return, but there was still an underlying grimness.

"What's wrong? And where are the others?" Nick asked. Midhe stood up, completely healed, with even her clothes mended and feathers regrown. Anyone who looked at her now couldn't have guessed the peril she had been in only moments ago.

"They've all gone to fight Anan's army." Nassir stated.

"He got through the barrier?" Midhe exclaimed.

Violet nodded. Midhe examined the mist, straining to hear or see anything in the dense fog. Very faintly she could hear the cries and clashes of battle.

"Then let's go!" She jumped into the air and flew a few feet over the water before realizing that no one was following. "Aren't you coming?"

"Midhe, we can't fly." Nick explained, gesturing to himself and Violet. "And I think Galen is too tired to pull off much magic."

"Oh, right." Midhe flew back over.

"I can take Nick." Nassir offered, knowing that Nick would be the heaviest out of the two. Midhe nodded; carrying another person is much harder than flying alone, especially when you're in untransformed state.

A flash of light hid Nassir from view as he transformed. In his place appeared a large sleek raven with strong wings and sharp eyes. Midhe watched for a moment, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy, but quickly cast it aside.

They carried the nervous siblings across the water, Nassir sometimes having to loop back around to keep pace with the slower Midhe. As they entered the mist, the moisture slightly dampened their clothes and hair. The fog became so thick that they couldn't see each other, so they listened to the muffled sound of their flapping wings to gauge where the other was. None of them spoke, mainly because it would be difficult to hear each other. This caused the group to wrap themselves in their own thoughts, hearing the just barely audible sounds of battle.

Finally they broke out into sunshine, squinting their eyes against the bright light. Screeches and screams assaulted their ears with full force, along with shouted orders from captains to the lesser ranked soldiers.

Below them an island surrounded by the misty ocean was in turmoil. Birds of all types flew through the air, dodging the debris from broken walls and the bursts of magic from Anan's magical users. Bird laguz, transformed into their mighty bird forms, tore at each other in the sky. Occasionally some would fall to the ground with a sharp cry and never rise back up. _So, Anan is not the only traitor, _she thought.

On the ground, a group of colorful dots identified the mages' and sages' cloaks. To Midhe's horror, she realized that they had already made it halfway to the castle. Behind the magical users was nothing but burning houses and dead bodies, along with a few of their own beorc who had fallen to a swift talon or beak.

"We need to find the King." Midhe shouted against the chaos.

"But we have to stop the sages too." Yelled Nick, his ears ringing from the war cries filling the air. Violet nodded, not bothering with words.

"Tibarn will have found him by now." Nassir stated. "You can look while the rest of us attack. First, let's drop them off."

Midhe and Nassir headed into the flurry, swerving around combatants to avoid being struck. They headed to the side of the path that the magical users seemed to be taking and flew a little ways ahead. Midhe gently set Nick down on the ground while Nassir did the same.

"We'll come and find you when we're done." Violet informed. Midhe nodded, and lifted into the air a few feet.

"Be careful, Midhe." Nick warned, concern gleaming in his eyes.

She smiled. "I've almost died once. I'd rather not repeat the experience."

"And don't forget to tell Tibarn that I'm here." Nassir said.

"Okay." Midhe rose into the air, above the houses and to the west. Nick watched her for a moment more before turning to where the sages and mages were approaching.

Midhe searched the ground below, glancing in front of her occasionally to avoid running into a battle. Even though she examined the streets for the commanding figure of her king, she couldn't help but look for someone else, someone younger with green eyes and brown hair just like hers…

She found King Einar finishing off a large owl laguz. He himself was transformed into a grand owl, his blind left eye visible. Normally he wore a bandage over it, but it must have been torn off during battle. Einar settled onto the wall surrounding his castle to gain a quick rest and to survey the war. To Midhe's relief, she noticed that he seemed unharmed.

In the corner of her eye, she could see Tibarn in his hawk form, just as magnificent and large as Einar. Even though it would be a few minutes before he reached her, Midhe relaxed a little, reassured for a moment that this situation could turn out alright.

Suddenly, her senses became alert, and she turned to see a pair of sharp talons flying towards her at alarming speed.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	29. Chapter 29

Midhe whipped out her dagger just in time to block the attack. The iron blade screeched as the claws raked across its surface. The force of the blow sent her falling backwards out of the sky for a few moments, causing her to fall many feet before she successfully used her wings to change direction.

She hovered in the air, searching for her attacker. He was just in her line of sight, but it was enough for her to stay her dagger.

She hadn't realized until now that she would be killing some of her own people in this battle. Despite the battles taking place in the air, it really hadn't registered until this situation occurred. This person, his wings so similar to hers despite his transformed state, seemed to examine her for a moment. Recognition sparked in his eyes and he spoke in a rough, naturally loud voice.

"So you're the one who helped the king and his corruption."

"What?" Midhe questioned, thoroughly confused.

"You were helping the king with his plan to use us – kill us- to create immortal life."

"That doesn't make any sense. You know as well as I that it was simply a rumor ages ago, nothing more. And even if it was true, I would never sacrifice innocent lives. I was even banished from here, by the king himself." She explained.

The owl laguz glared at her coldly. "Lies. Anan knew of your treachery and, after you left, told us what you were really doing. You were gathering forces from the other races to come here and kill us."

"That's not— "

"Silence." He demanded, his beak flashing in the sun. "You will die, traitor!"

Midhe flapped her wings to gain speed as he charged at her. Luckily, most owl laguz couldn't come close to the speed of the raven laguz, and in their transformed states their speed changed little. She was able to move aside and lashed out with her weapon. She hesitated and instant, in the time her blade was almost pressed against his neck and time seemed to slow, and moved back her hand slightly.

Before he could realize what had happened, the owl laguz's left wing received a long bleeding gash and he was falling out of the air. Midhe watched him go with a look of pity, her thoughts completing the puzzle of this whole war.

"The loyal against the misled," she muttered.

Remembering the king somewhere below, she turned to look back down at the spot he had been perched upon. He wasn't there, but she did notice Tibarn fly over and he hovered next to her, both pleased at her return from death and grim from the realities of war.

"These owl laguz are trying to kill King Einar because they believe that he wants to sacrifice them to gain immortal life." she stated, not wasting time on greetings.

"That makes sense. But I'm surprised that they would turn on him so easily." Tibarn said, his transformed state easily shadowing over Midhe.

"Anan was popular among many of the citizens, but it was only because of his father, who was an important diplomat."

"Was?"

"He was killed not long before I received my position as a guard."

Tibarn nodded, surveying the area around them. "Despite our larger numbers, those sages are causing a problem for us. But for now, our forces seem equal."

"Do you think there is a way to end this without killing all of those who were misled?" she asked, her tone turning graven.

"That I can't say. But I believe that our best bet is to defeat Anan. At least then we will have an advantage."

Midhe simply nodded. "I saw the king a few minutes ago. Have you talked to him yet?"

"Not yet. I've focused on overseeing the battle."

"Alright. I'm going to find Kind Einar and make sure he is well and then find Anan. By the way, Nick, Violet, and Nassir are here too." She remembered.

"I'll look out for them." Tibarn reassured. He flew off into the distance, helping out a wounded hawk laguz who was up against a much larger owl laguz.

Midhe traveled in the other direction, towards the castle, silently pondering the reaction she would receive from the ruler who had banished her those years ago.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	30. Chapter 30

King Einar turned his head towards her, his owl gaze shifting between different emotions, as if he wasn't sure what to think. Eventually he settled on a stern and strong look worthy of his title.

"Midhe. What are you doing here?" Midhe flinched at the harsh words, but tried to meet his gaze.

"I've come to warn you. Anan is the one leading this attack."

"Anan?" he exclaimed. He quickly composed himself and became calm, although he didn't show the same contempt as before.

"I suppose you're the one that called for the laguz king and his army?" he asked.

Midhe nodded. "Once I knew what was happening, I couldn't just stand by. Besides, they were controlling Tibarn too." To herself, she sounded pitiful.

"I see. We can talk later. For now, we must defeat Anan." Einar stated.

"What would you like me to do?"

"Help defeat these traitors. But if you see Anan, don't hesitate to kill him." He ordered. Midhe nodded and flew off, while King Einar stayed put for a moment longer. Something passed across his feathery face for a moment, something almost like contemplation as he watched the banished owl laguz unhesitatingly fly into the fray. Then his eyes shifted to an oncoming attacker, to which he readily screeched a challenge and took to the air.

Midhe, hovering high in the sky, searched the vast air for any sign of Anan. Although, in the back of her mind, she could still hear old words ringing in her ears; _You may never return here. _Einar acted almost like he didn't mind her being here in their short conversation. But was that just because she brought Tibarn? And would he act the same after the war was over?

"You of all people should know to keep your mind on the battle." The sneering voice sounded right behind her. Midhe stiffened, wings stunned for a moment and her eyes widening. Anan was practically breathing on her shoulder.

"You should have died. It would have saved a lot of trouble. For me and you." Midhe quickly dived just as Anan's talons sliced through the air. His eyes, sparking with anger, followed her descent and swiftly flew down after her.

Unfortunately, being in laguz form easily allowed Anan to catch up to her. Midhe, having already assumed this, pulled out her dagger and twisted in the air to block his next attack. They separated and were about to fly away enough to create a strong second attack. But just at that moment another owl laguz, cartwheeling through the air from a particularly powerful blow, slammed into both of them.

Midhe and Anan, forgetting about their battle for a second, struggled against his weight that threatened to crash them into the ground. They all fell towards the ground, desperately trying to untangle themselves.

**Sorry for making it so short, but school has really been slamming me with homework lately. Add that to me trying the National Novel Writing Month Challenge…yeah. I'm going to try to catch up on the weekend, but no matter what happens, I assure you I will post the next chapter of this story on Wednesday. I hope it turns out better than this one ^^;**

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	31. Chapter 31

Finally, the dazed owl laguz seemed to figure out what was happening and pushed off of their bodies with a flourish of wings. Midhe rolled in the air, wind already starting to slow her descent, when she realized that it was too late.

Midhe crashed into the palace's backyard, crying out as her left wing painfully bent underneath her. Anan, who had managed to get slightly more air, had spread his wings. However, this didn't give him enough time to move away from the large tree in his path. One of the tall tree's branches gouged a deep injury into his right wing, and he fell to the ground, a few feathers floating to the ground around him. The branch that had inflicted the wound broke under the weight, and fell to the grass next to him.

They both laid there for a seemingly long moment, pain and shock of their landing making them incapable of movement. Then suddenly the two laguz rose to their feet, watching the other. Midhe carefully kept her wing in one position, trying to ease the pain. Anan observed his bloody wing before placing it back at his side with a disgusted and irritated look.

A small smirk lit Midhe's face as she realized how their battle would continue. Without the ability of flight, this would have to resume on the ground, which she was more experienced with than Anan. Like she suspected, Anan disappeared in a swirl of light, transforming back into his other form. She took this opportunity to pull her dagger out of the ground, which had stuck blade first into the earth only a few feet away.

Anan, his wing still torn and staining the grass red below, noticed the look on her face.

"You really think I don't know how to fight untransformed?" He charged at her so quickly Midhe barely had time to respond. Only thanks to her high speed was she able to jump away from his fist in time, and she could still feel the air from his punch on her chin. She back stepped away to gain some distance, although Anan seemed almost satisfied with her shocked gaze.

"I was going to be a royal guard, remember?" he taunted. He threw another punch her way, which Midhe dodged and retaliated with a slash from her dagger. Anan easily moved away, and her blade sliced nothing but air.

"If you wanted to protect the King so much, then why did you betray them?" Midhe asked. He gritted his teeth and ran to create another attack.

"Betray him?" he attempted another blow, which Midhe sidestepped, but he didn't move back. Instead he punched again, and this time she couldn't avoid it.

"He betrayed me! Everyone betrayed me!" The attack landed hard on her left shoulder, pushing her back several feet and creating a terrible pressure on the left side of her collarbone. Anan continued his assault and prepared for yet another blow.

"I didn't. I didn't care about who your father was, and still don't!" she shot back. This comment made Anan pause, and Midhe took the opportunity to move out of his range. She made a mental check of her injury; her collarbone was throbbing, but it seemed to be intact. She returned her attention to Anan, who was already getting over his spell.

Anger flashing in his eyes, he ran towards her. "Do not speak of my father!" An attack fueled by rage approached her. However, his accuracy decreased by his impulsive fury, Midhe easily ducked under his fist.

She slashed upward and left a deep cut from the middle of his torso to his abdomen. Anan cried out, partly in rage and partly in pain, and attacked blindly. Midhe jumped away and examined this laguz that used to be her best friend.

Fuming, he placed his hands on the wound, blood seeping through and staining the shirt's fabric. Realizing that this injury would not stop bleeding so easily, he irritably shook his hands in an attempt to take off some of the blood. A few drops flew from his crimson palms, but the wound was bleeding heavily, and he already seemed to be feeling the effects of losing so much blood.

"So," Midhe muttered just loud enough for him to hear, "this is what you've become. So much different from the person I used to know." Anan simply stood there, starting to pant from his excursion.

"We wanted to be the best we could be, and use our abilities to protect our people. You were so happy and energetic. I was glad to be your friend."

"You only took pity on me because no one else would. Everyone hated me for my father, and didn't care about what I wanted or could do. Not even the King."

Midhe remembered about Anan's parent, a tale that was known by all of the laguz. When his father was still alive, he seemed normal like any other owl laguz. He married a beautiful laguz and they had a child, Anan. But, when Anan was only a few months old, his father murdered his family, even his own wife. He went on to kill three more families before he was executed by royal guards. Everyone in Anan's generation didn't even know his name, including Anan himself. And those he did know his name refused to say it.

"No. I liked how upbeat you always were, despite the challenges you faced. Whenever someone said something, you always shrugged it off like it was nothing."

"But when you were chosen as a guard and I wasn't, you still accepted it. Even after we'd promised we'd stick together no matter what. You left and never looked back."

"That's not true. I did take the position, but I still wanted to be your friend. The day after I was accepted, I tried to find you, but you'd disappeared." Midhe looked down, regret glimmering in her eyes. "I didn't know that I'd hurt you so much. I'm sorry."

All of Anan's movements ceased when he heard the last two words, his panting turned quiet and his face became shadowed as he looked down.

Suddenly, he started trembling. "Sorry? Because of you I was left with no one. And since I was alone, the other laguz took the opportunity to punish me for something I didn't even do."

He looked up, hatred emanating from every pore in his body. "Now I will kill you for the pain you caused me!"

He charged at her. Midhe, surprised, backed away only to trip over the broken branch that had injured Anan's wing. She nearly gasped as she lost her balance, seeing Anan right in front of her. He pushed her down and successfully pinned her to the ground, her broken wing screeching in pain. But what felt even worse was how her right arm had landed underneath her, bending with her own and Anan's weight. Her shoulder felt like it would disconnect from her arm. Sickeningly warm blood dripped from his deep wound onto Midhe's shirt, and his hand wrapped around her throat. He started to squeeze, painfully cutting off her air. She desperately tried to move, but Anan kept her immobile.

Despite the panic swelling in her mind, she noticed the glint of metal in the corner of her eye. Her dagger lay just within reach on her right side, if she could move her arm.

Midhe went limp and closed her eyes, hoping that the idea that just popped into her oxygen deprived head work.

As she expected, Anan's grip slackened and the weight lessened slightly. She wasn't sure if she would have the strength, but she continued her plan.

Midhe suddenly jerked, shocking Anan enough to decrease more weight, and she lifted up her back to pull out her arm. Her shoulder protested in pain, but she ignored it and reached out to grab her weapon. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt, her only hope to stay alive. Anan quickly realized what was happening and tried to smash her neck, only to find the sharp and bloodied point of a blade sticking out of his back.

**I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	32. Chapter 32

Anan stopped, disbelief showing in his widened eyes. He pushed himself off Midhe, who gratefully gulped down air, only to fall on his side next to her. He weakly brought his shaking hand to the dagger and pulled it out. His arm fell to the ground and his eyes closed, blood pouring from his wounds.

Midhe sat up and watched him until the puddle of crimson threatened to reach her. She stood up and looked down at her stained shirt, knowing that the battle was over. She looked up to see King Einar flying towards her, and noticed that there seemed to be very few laguz still in the air.

He settled on the ground next to her before transforming back into his normal state.

"We have won, but only because of the Bird Laguz King's support. And for that I must thank you." He praised. Midhe, tired, nodded her appreciation.

"So, that's Anan." He stated, seeing the figure behind her. His eyes took in the dead laguz and the bloody dagger still clutched in his hand. King Einar seemed to struggle with his words for a moment, and then sighed before talking.

"Looks like I really messed up, huh?" This shocked Midhe; not the words themselves, but with the emotion he said them with. He sounded like a disappointed young man and a wise warrior that had finally found defeat at the same time.

"I should have never banished you, especially without giving you a proper trial. I'm afraid you will never be able to transform again, and for that I give you my deepest apologies." To add to her surprise, Einar bowed his head slightly, so much unlike the prideful king she had seen before her battle with Anan.

"No, it's fine. After all, he was your son." Midhe said truthfully. All this time, she had felt a spark of resentment towards him, but now it had been extinguished. After all, she didn't know what she would do if Mylene died.

"That does not matter. As a king, I should have done what was best, not what my clouded judgment thought I should do." They heard wings beating in the distance to see Tibarn flying towards them. In less than five minutes he arrived before them.

"It's hard to determine the traitors from them citizens, but I believe that we have taken care of everyone." His voice sounded automatic as he gave his report. Einar nodded.

"Midhe took down Anan." He responded. Tibarn, who had already examined the still form from above, noticed the way Midhe's wing looked like it had been crushed.

"You'd better see Nick soon to fix that wing." Tibarn suggested. Midhe's eyes immediately lit up as she remembered her friends.

"Are they—"

"They're fine." Tibarn reassured. "In fact, they are helping other wounded as we speak. Janaff, Ulki, and Nassir are checking for any straggling traitors."

"Good." She breathed. Suddenly her exhausted senses became alert, as if she felt danger. Before she could react, she heard something behind her move.

In a flash, Einar disappeared from her sight and the movement ceased. Midhe turned around, realizing what just happened.

Anan lay on the ground in a different position, worryingly close to Midhe with King Einar's hand still above him. Deep bruise marks lined his throat and her dagger lay beside him.

Anan had tried to kill her with one last attack; but King Einar had saved her.

"Thanks." She said, becoming uncomfortable at being so close to his body, despite knowing that there was no way he could have survived Einar's devastating grip. Tibarn and Einar moved a few feet away in an attempt to relieve some of her tension.

"Now, what will you have your troops do?" Tibarn asked.

"You seem to be doing a good job at ordering them, so just keep at it." Einar answered. "But there's something I want to talk to you about." Tibarn waited for him to continue.

"I want you to be the King of my people." Midhe blinked in astonishment and looked from Tibarn to Einar to see their reactions. Einar looked perfectly serious, while Tibarn seemed slightly surprised, but not enough to take away from his strong appearance.

"Are you sure?" Tibarn asked simply.

"More sure than I have been in years. All of this had shown me just how terrible of a leader I have become. And although I have known you for only a short while, I can tell that you are a great and respected King."

Midhe thought for a moment about how many bird laguz he already had under his command, which surely put him under some stress. And to add more on top of that…

But Tibarn nodded, as if adding another responsibility was nothing new. "Then I accept."

**I hope you enjoyed and please review! And just think, only two more chapters left!**


	33. Chapter 33

The next day, Midhe looked out of the window in a guest room of the owl laguz palace. She watched as bird laguz of all types helped each other to rebuild houses and other structures that the sages had destroyed. Surprisingly, her people had quickly accepted Tibarn as their new leader, and he was already speaking with the army's commanders and generals.

Einar worked hard with the others, having abdicated from his position. Tibarn explained to him that he would need Einar's help with their goals, since he did not know much about the owl laguz. Einar agreed to help, but stated that he did not want to have a position of authority.

Tibarn discovered that many of the owl laguz desired to see what was beyond their island, and so was preparing those for the flight to his nation. Ulki had been sent to the mainland the night before to announce their arrival, while Janaff and Nassir assisted their King with preparations.

Midhe remembered how Einar had introduced her to the rest of the laguz, who had thought her a criminal not long ago. But, after seeing the former king's respect towards her, most willingly accepted her. However, Midhe still felt the urge to leave, due to feeling uncomfortable around the citizens. Despite Einar's words, she couldn't help but feel that some owl laguz still thought of her as a villain.

Her eyes wandered to the very edge of the window, where just a sliver of the wall surrounding the backyard could be seen. Anan…although he had caused her so much pain, there was still the memory of how he used to be. If she hadn't taken the position of a royal guard, maybe all of this could be avoided. But it was too late for that now, and she knew that in the end, it was Anan's choice that doomed his life.

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting her thoughts. "Yes?"

"Midhe? There's someone in the Great Hall that wants to see you." Einar announced.

"Who is it?"

"You'll see." With a last glance at the window, she left the room. Einar had already left, to where she didn't know. She walked down the familiar halls until she spotted Nick and Violet up ahead, standing next to the impressive doors that led to the Great Hall.

They nodded at her passing with a smile on their faces, but didn't say a word. Nick simply opened the closest door and waited for her to go through. Curious, Midhe walked through, and hear the door close behind her.

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. A young laguz, whose large and innocent eyes seemed so gratefully familiar, stood looking up at Midhe. Midhe could hardly believe it.

"Mylene?" her voice was barely more than a whisper. Her question was confirmed as Mylene ran to her at full sprint. The small arms wrapped around Midhe, who had leaned down to meet her beloved sister.

"Midhe!" Mylene exclaimed. Midhe returned the gesture and hugged back with all of her heart.

After a moment, Mylene looked up at Midhe. "Midhe, are you sad?" she had noticed the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Midhe shook her head, smiling. "No, not at all."

**I hope you enjoyed and please review! One more chapter to go!**


	34. Chapter 34

"Are you sure you want to leave? The owl laguz consider you a hero, and your tale has already spread to the other races." Tibarn asked. Next to him stood Ulki and Nassir; Janaff was back on the island, helping Einar take care of the owl laguz.

"Yes. I know that it would be safe to stay, but…we're travelers. And we want to get stronger so that we can help others." Midhe put her hand on Mylene's shoulder. "This time, with my sister." Nick and Violet nodded their agreement.

"I'd also like to learn more about this staff." Nick explained, holding Galen out in front of him.

"But won't it be dangerous for Mylene?" Nassir questioned.

Mylene spoke without hesitation. "I stay with Midhe! She can protect me." The young laguz gripped Midhe's arm, defiance glinting in her eyes.

Midhe shrugged, smiling "You heard her."

** "**I understand. I only wish that I could give you more." Tibarn said.

"No, you've given us enough already." Violet responded, shifting her new backpack. "You gave us plenty of money and supplies to last us a while."

Tibarn nodded. "Remember, you are always welcome here."

"Thanks, from all of us." Midhe turned to her group. "I guess it's time to leave."

"Have a good journey." Ulki talked quietly, but his voice still easily reached their ears.

"Fly well!" Nassir added, using a familiar saying among bird laguz.

The group said their goodbyes and walked out the door, the sun outlining their figures for a moment. Midhe, the confident and redeemed laguz; Mylene, still clutching Midhe's arm with the sisterly bond she had been deprived of for too long; Nick, his terrible past faded into nothing but memory; and Violet, ever caring for her brother and now for the laguz as well.

The large doors shut behind them, leaving an empty space that no one could feel.

"Think they'll be okay?" Nassir asked, not so much worrying as already missing them. Even though he hadn't known them for long, he still felt an attachment towards them.

"Of course they will." Tibarn gave a thoughtful smile. "You know, they kind of remind me of a certain blue-haired mercenary."

**Well, that's it! After all of these chapters, the story is finally over. Even though I do feel that I could have done better in some places, I'm just happy that I finished my first story . I'm afraid to say that I'm not sure if I will be doing a prequel based on Nassir, but if I do it will be a while before I make it. For the last time on this story, I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


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